Did you know that the prefix of your social security number indicates which State the number was issued in? The first three digits are the area number, the next two digits are the group number, and the last four digits are the serial number.
The area number (first three digits of a Social Security number):
001-003 issued in New Hampshire
004-007 issued in Maine
008-009 issued in Vermont
010-034 issued in Massachusetts
035-039 issued in Rhode Island
040-049 issued in Connecticut
050-134 issued in New York
135-158 issued in New Jersey
159-211 issued in Pennsylvania
212-220 issued in Maryland
221-222 issued in Delaware
223-231 issued in Virginia
232 issued in West Virginia & North Carolina
233-236 issued in West Virginia
237-246 issued in North Carolina
247-251 issued in South Carolina
252-260 issued in Georgia
261-267 issued in Florida
268-302 issued in Ohio
303-317 issued in Indiana
318-361 issued in Illinois
362-386 issued in Michigan
387-399 issued in Wisconsin
400-407 issued in Kentucky
408-415 issued in Tennessee
416-424 issued in Alabama
425-428 issued in Mississippi
429-432 issued in Arkansas
433-439 issued in Louisiana
440-448 issued in Oklahoma
449-467 issued in Texas
468-477 issued in Minnesota
478-485 issued in Iowa
486-500 issued in Missouri
501-502 issued in North Dakota
503-504 issued in South Dakota
505-508 issued in Nebraska
509-515 issued in Kansas
516-517 issued in Montana
518-519 issued in Idaho
520 issued in Wyoming
521-524 issued in Colorado
525 issued in New Mexico
526-527 issued in Arizona
528-529 issued in Utah
530 issued in Nevada
531-539 issued in Washington
540-544 issued in Oregon
545-573 issued in California
574 issued in Alaska
575-576 issued in Hawaii
577-579 issued in District of Columbia
580 issued in Virgin Islands
581-584 issued in Puerto Rico
585 issued in New Mexico
586 issued in American Samoa, Guam & Philippines
587-588 issued in Mississippi
589-595 issued in Florida
596-599 issued in Puerto Rico
600-601 issued in Arizona
602-626 issued in California
627-647 issued in Texas
648-649 issued in New Mexico
650-653 issued in Colorado
654-658 issued in South Carolina
659-665 issued in Louisiana
667-675 issued in Georgia
676-679 issued in Arkansas
680 issued in Nevada
681-690 issued in North Carolina
691-699 issued in Virginia
700-728 issued by Railroad Board (railroad employee)
729-733 Enumeration at Entry (non-citizen w/ permanent residency)
750-751 issued in Hawaii
752-755 issued in Mississippi
756-763 issued in Tennessee
764-765 issued in Arizona
765-772 issued in Florida
Did you notice which prefix has not been used?
The second and third set of digits in the social security number is the group number issued to the post office for assignment. They were not distributed consecutively for security reasons.
You can also search the Social Security Death Index free at Ancestry (Click here). A free search provides name, year of death and residence only.
Here's an example of how this can be useful. Some records pertaining to my great-grandfather's brother, James H. Leonard, indicate he was born in New York, while others say Pennsylvania. His social security number begins with 133, which I can see from the list above, was New York.
Interesting fact:
"The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-458) placed limits on the number of replacement Social Security cards an individual can receive. Beginning with cards issued on or after December 17, 2005, individuals may only receive three Social Security cards per year and 10 in a lifetime, with certain exceptions, such as correcting errors or name changes."
For more information about the Social Security system, see this page at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v69n2/v69n2p55.html