Disability Law

What do Social Security Numbers Tell You?

From Kathleen Pender in today’s San Francisco Chronicle:

…How does the government assign these numbers? Is there anything you can tell about a person from his or her number? And in using the last two digits, is the IRS favoring one group over another?

It turns out that the first three digits - called the area number - are based on the ZIP code of the mailing address listed on the application for a Social Security number. It can usually tell you something about a person’s origins.

Within each area, the next two digits - called the group number - are assigned in consecutive order as applications come in. Instead of going from 01 to 99, however, the Social Security Administration follows an odd-even numbering pattern. Within each group, the last four digits are assigned in consecutive order from 1 through 9999.
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Full post as published by Social Security Disability Law Blog on May 06, 2008 (boomark / email).