What are the lifetime odds of being stalked?
Evidence quality 4.75/5
Eight-dimension review score against the quality rubric . Each dimension scored 1–5.
- D1 Source grounding
- 4/5
- D2 Source authority
- 5/5
- D3 Arithmetic
- 5/5
- D4 Uncertainty
- 5/5
- D5 Scope
- 5/5
- D6 Prose
- 5/5
- D7 Perception honesty
- 4/5
- D8 Caveat completeness
- 5/5
Lifetime probability · lifetime, US adult
1 in 6.2
16% lifetime chance
Most people underestimate this.
range 1 in 13 to 1 in 3.3
≈ As likely as
Perceived
Stalking occupies a peculiar position in public risk perception. It is simultaneously the subject of intense media dramatization — the obsessed stranger, the celebrity fan, the ex who will not stop — and widespread trivialization in everyday life, where persistent unwanted contact is often reframed as romantic persistence, harmless attention-seeking, or a private matter between former partners. Most people do not consider themselves likely targets. Survey data on perceived personal stalking risk are essentially nonexistent; the concept itself was not codified in US criminal law until California's 1990 anti-stalking statute, and public understanding of what constitutes stalking remains inconsistent.
Source: editorial intuition, not polled
Actual
~22.5% of women and ~9.7% of men have experienced stalking in their lifetime (CDC NISVS 2023/2024)
US adults aged 18+, NISVS nationally representative survey
Show derivation
CDC NISVS 2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief reports lifetime stalking prevalence of 22.5% for women (28.8 million) and 9.7% for men (11.9 million). The 2023/2024 cycle used revised stalking measurement and data collection methodology; the CDC explicitly cautions against comparing these figures to earlier NISVS waves (2011, 2016/2017) due to these methodological changes. Weighted combined-sex average using US census sex ratio (51.1% F / 48.9% M): 0.511 × 0.225 + 0.489 × 0.097 ≈ 0.1624, rounded to 0.162. This is a directly measured lifetime prevalence, not an annual-rate extrapolation. The BJS Supplemental Victimization Survey (2019) independently estimated 1.3% annual stalking prevalence (3.4 million victims), which over a 59-year adult life yields a rough lifetime estimate consistent with the NISVS figure. Uncertainty band: low end uses the BJS annual-rate extrapolation (~12%); high end reflects the upper range of state-level NISVS estimates and broader stalking definitions that capture lower-severity persistent contact (~30% combined-sex); low end uses narrower legal-threshold definitions consistent with BJS/NCVS survey instruments (~8% combined-sex).
Caveats: The 2023/2024 NISVS used revised stalking measurement and data collection method…
The 2023/2024 NISVS used revised stalking measurement and data collection methodology; the CDC explicitly cautions against comparing these findings to earlier NISVS waves (2011, 2016/2017). The higher 2023/2024 figures may reflect improved measurement rather than a true increase in prevalence. The sex disparity (~2.3:1 female-to-male ratio) is present but narrower than in earlier waves, which may partly reflect changes in survey methodology, differential willingness to report, and differential thresholds for feeling fearful. Roughly two-thirds of female stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner, not a stranger — a pattern that contradicts the dominant media archetype. Technology-facilitated stalking (GPS tracking, social media monitoring, spyware) is increasingly prevalent; the 2023/2024 brief reports technology- facilitated tactics affected 16-29% of victims. The stalking-to-homicide pipeline is well-documented: McFarlane et al. (1999) found that 76% of intimate-partner femicide victims were stalked by their killer in the year before their death, and 85% of attempted femicide victims were stalked (these are distinct populations).
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The CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief — the most recent cycle — found that 22.5% of women (approximately 28.8 million) and 9.7% of men (approximately 11.9 million) have experienced stalking victimization in their lifetime. The 2023/2024 cycle used revised stalking measurement and data collection methodology, and the CDC explicitly cautions against comparing these figures to earlier NISVS waves (2011, 2016/2017) due to these changes. The weighted combined-sex average places lifetime stalking prevalence for US adults at roughly 1 in 6. Independently, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 1.3% of persons age 16 or older (3.4 million) were stalked in 2019 alone, using a separate survey instrument — a figure consistent in order of magnitude with the NISVS lifetime estimate.
The stalking that shows up in these data bears little resemblance to the media archetype of an obsessed stranger. Approximately two-thirds of female stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner, and the most common tactics are unwanted phone calls, texts, and messages; being watched, followed, or tracked; and being approached or showing up in places where the victim did not want the perpetrator to be. Technology-facilitated stalking — GPS trackers, spyware, social media monitoring — is growing rapidly but may be undercounted in survey instruments designed before smartphones became ubiquitous. The behavioral pattern is notable for its persistence: the median duration of stalking victimization spans months, and a substantial minority of victims report being stalked for years.
The lethality connection is the statistic that most sharply separates stalking from other high-prevalence interpersonal crimes. McFarlane, Campbell et al. (1999) found that 76% of intimate-partner femicide victims were stalked by their killer in the year preceding the homicide, and 85% of attempted femicide victims were stalked. These are distinct populations — the 85% figure refers to attempted femicide, not to physical assault preceding completed femicide. This makes stalking one of the strongest behavioral predictors of intimate-partner homicide — yet it remains one of the least prosecuted, in part because the behavior that constitutes stalking (calling, texting, appearing in public places) is individually legal and becomes criminal only in aggregate. The gap between prevalence and prosecution is wide: the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that fewer than half of stalking victims report to police, and conviction rates for reported cases remain low.
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief
National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Stalking Data Brief- Statistic
22.5% of women and 9.7% of men experienced stalking in their lifetime- Excerpt
“"More than 1 in 5 women (22.5% or an estimated 28.8 million) in the United States have experienced stalking during their lifetimes. Approximately 1 in 10 men (9.7% or about 11.9 million) in the United States have experienced stalking in their lifetimes." ”
- Source data from
- 2025-01-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-29 · archived copy
- Calculation
- Primary lifetime stalking prevalence from NISVS 2023/2024. Women: 22.5%, men: 9.7%. Combined-sex weighted average: 0.511 × 0.225 + 0.489 × 0.097 ≈ 0.1624 → 0.162. Used directly as lifetime_us_adult. The CDC cautions against comparing to earlier NISVS waves due to revised stalking measurement and methodology changes.
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[2] Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ) — Stalking Victimization, 2019
Stalking Victimization, 2019- Statistic
1.3% of persons age 16+ were stalked in 2019 (approximately 3.4 million victims)- Excerpt
“"About 1.3% (3.4 million) of all persons age 16 or older were victims of stalking in 2019. The percentage of persons who experienced stalking declined from 1.5% in 2016 to 1.3% in 2019." ”
- Source data from
- 2022-03-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-29 · archived copy
- Calculation
- BJS annual prevalence from the NCVS Supplemental Victimization Survey. Independent from the CDC NISVS (different survey instrument, different definition threshold). The 1.3% annual rate over a 59-year adult life yields a rough lifetime estimate of 1 − (1 − 0.013)^59 ≈ 0.54, but this overstates true lifetime prevalence because stalking victimization is not independent across years. The NISVS directly measured lifetime prevalence of 16.2% (combined-sex) is more reliable for the lifetime figure.
- Independence
- BJS uses the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), methodologically independent from the CDC's NISVS. Different sampling frame, different questionnaire, different stalking definition threshold. Cross-validation strengthens confidence in the order of magnitude.
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[3] Homicide Studies (SAGE) — Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide
Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide- Statistic
76% of femicide victims and 85% of attempted femicide victims were stalked by their intimate partner- Excerpt
“"The prevalence of stalking was 76% for femicide victims and 85% for attempted femicide victims. Incidence of intimate partner assault was 67% for femicide victims and 71% for attempted femicide victims." ”
- Source data from
- 1999-11-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-29 · archived copy
- Calculation
- McFarlane, Campbell et al. (1999) used an 18-item stalking inventory and personal interviews to describe intimate partner stalking within 12 months of attempted and actual partner femicide, covering 141 femicide and 65 attempted femicide incidents. The 76% figure applies to completed femicide; the 85% figure applies to attempted femicide. These are distinct populations and the figures should not be conflated.