Americans Are Sitting on $20 Billion They Don't Know They Own. Here's How to Check in 2 Minutes

Americans could be missing out on $70 billion in unclaimed money

You know that little anxiety you get when you can’t find a receipt, a password, or a long-forgotten account? Now scale it up to the state level. NAUPA estimates state treasurers are holding $70 billion in unclaimed property across the US. And yes, it can be yours.

The odds are higher than most people think. About 1 in 7 Americans, roughly 33 million people, may have money being held by a state, according to NAUPA. Have you ever moved, changed banks, or switched jobs and just assumed everything followed you?

What “unclaimed property” really is

These aren’t mystery jackpots. Unclaimed property often starts out as everyday stuff: uncashed paychecks, dormant or inactive bank accounts, and abandoned safe deposit box contents. It can also include unclaimed stocks, security deposits, and unpaid life insurance benefits, the kinds of financial loose ends that appear after a move, a name change, or a death in the family.

States have been building these programs for decades, and the pile has grown. NAUPA data cited by Stateline says agencies collected $7.8 billion and returned $3.2 billion in 2015, while states were holding $43 billion as of 2013. The scale is big, but the source is usually mundane.

Real money is already flowing back to people

States do send money back, steadily, even if the process isn’t always fast. In fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024), unclaimed property programs returned $4.49 billion to rightful owners, according to NAUPA figures reported by local TV outlets.

Individual claims are often meaningful. A prior period cited by CNBC pegged the average claimed asset at $2,080, and the record payout in US history is believed to be $6.1 million, paid by the Missouri State Treasurer in 2011 from a generations-old stock investment. “Regardless of the size, we try to get it as quickly to [owners] as possible,” former NAUPA president John Murante said.

How to look it up for free, and avoid getting played

For a quick, legitimate search, NAUPA and the National Association of State Treasurers point people to MissingMoney.com and Unclaimed.org. The key word here is “free.” If someone asks you to pay a fee up front to “release” your funds, you’re no longer dealing with the real system.

That warning isn’t hypothetical. On July 12, 2023, NAUPA and NAST issued an advisory saying they “will never directly contact individuals regarding unclaimed property, and any such communication should be treated as fraudulent,” amid scams involving fake letters demanding upfront fees. As Massachusetts State Treasurer Deb Goldberg put it on Good Morning America, “It turns out so many people have unclaimed property. You may be in for a very pleasant surprise.”