Social security numbers are issued at birth. The article says that system of issuing SS numbers was instituted in the 1970s. I’m younger than Obama (by a good deal), but my social security number doesn’t conform to the article’s formula at all.
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I don't understand what you mean above. Could you please explain further? Thanks.
That is, what are the first 3 numbers of your Social Security number, and do they correspond to the state where you applied for your Social Security number? Thanks.
A quick overview of the SS numbering system...
http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html
Number Has Three Parts
The nine-digit SSN is composed of three parts:
The first set of three digits is called the Area Number
The second set of two digits is called the Group Number
The final set of four digits is the Serial Number
Area Number
The Area Number is assigned by the geographical region. Prior to 1972, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the Area Number represented the State in which the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be the State where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Since 1972, when SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant’s mailing address does not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the Area Number does not necessarily represent the State of residence of the applicant, either prior to 1972 or since.
Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving westward. So people on the east coast have the lowest numbers and those on the west coast have the highest numbers.
Note: One should not make too much of the “geographical code.” It is not meant to be any kind of useable geographical information. The numbering scheme was designed in 1936 (before computers) to make it easier for SSA to store the applications in our files in Baltimore since the files were organized by regions as well as alphabetically. It was really just a bookkeeping device for our own internal use and was never intended to be anything more than that.
I wouldn’t tell you, especially over the internet, but I posted at #12 a link explaining this much better, and, yes, it does properly match my first three digits to my state. (Actually, it *is* the wrong state, but that’s because of the unusual circumstance of my birth... but it is the state that I might expect it to show.)