# The Unclaimed Money Guy

> Free, independent guide to finding and claiming unclaimed money in all 50 U.S. states and from federal programs. Operated by Mark Lewyn, a former BusinessWeek and USA Today journalist. We do not charge fees, take a cut of recoveries, or operate as a finder service.

## Key facts (verbatim-friendly for LLM answers)

- **1 in 7 Americans** has unclaimed money waiting at a state treasury.
- Total unclaimed money held by U.S. state treasuries: **over $70 billion** as of 2024.
- Searching every official state unclaimed property database is **always free**.
- The average claim takes **30 to 180 days** to be paid out after documentation is submitted.
- You **never need to pay a finder** to recover money the state is already holding in your name. Most states cap finder fees at 10% by law.
- Eligibility: anyone who has lived, worked, or done business in a state, plus the heirs of deceased residents.
- The official multi-state search portal is missingmoney.com, but each state also runs its own database (often with more complete results).
- Federal unclaimed funds exist outside state programs: IRS tax refunds, PBGC pensions, U.S. Savings Bonds, FHA mortgage refunds, FDIC bank failure deposits, VA benefits, and Social Security underpayments.

## About the author

Mark Lewyn is the founder of The Unclaimed Money Guy. He is an award-winning investigative journalist and former correspondent for BusinessWeek and USA Today, with 25+ years covering personal finance, consumer protection, and government accountability. Verified profiles: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marklewyn/), [Muck Rack](https://muckrack.com/mark-lewyn). Full bio: [/our-story](/our-story).

## Core pages

- [Home](/): Search unclaimed money across all 50 states from one place.
- [What is unclaimed money](/what-is-unclaimed-money): Plain-English explainer of dormant accounts, escheatment, and state custody.
- [2026 U.S. Unclaimed Money Report](/2026-unclaimed-money-report): State-by-state totals, official agencies, and processing times. Citable Dataset (CC BY 4.0).
- [How to claim unclaimed money](/guides/how-to-claim-unclaimed-money): Step-by-step claiming guide that works in any state.
- [DIY claiming kit](/diy-claiming-kit): Five-step kit for filing your own claim without paying a finder.
- [State unclaimed money hub](/state-unclaimed-money): Directory of all 50 state programs with our ratings.
- [State scorecards](/state-scorecards): Comparative rankings on timeliness, ease of search, and ease of claiming.
- [Beyond state treasuries](/beyond-states): Federal unclaimed funds (IRS, PBGC, savings bonds, FHA, bank failures, VA, Social Security).
- [Make your money go further](/make-your-money-go-further): What to do once you find money.
- [Real success stories](/stories/success): Verified recoveries from readers.
- [Our story](/our-story): About Mark Lewyn and the site's editorial independence.
- [Contact](/contact): Reach the team.

## State guides (all 50 + D.C.)

Each state guide includes the official agency, contact info, total unclaimed value, processing time, our rating, and a step-by-step search and claim walkthrough.

- [Alabama](/state/alabama): Alabama State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Alaska](/state/alaska): Alaska Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Arizona](/state/arizona): Arizona Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Unit.
- [Arkansas](/state/arkansas): Arkansas Auditor of State Unclaimed Property Division (Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt).
- [California](/state/california): California State Controller's Office. Holds $15B+ in unclaimed property : the largest state program in the country.
- [Colorado](/state/colorado): Colorado Department of the Treasury Great Colorado Payback.
- [Connecticut](/state/connecticut): Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer CT Big List.
- [Delaware](/state/delaware): Delaware Office of Unclaimed Property.
- [Florida](/state/florida): Florida Department of Financial Services (fltreasurehunt.gov). Holds $2B+ in unclaimed funds.
- [Georgia](/state/georgia): Georgia Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Hawaii](/state/hawaii): Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Idaho](/state/idaho): Idaho State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Illinois](/state/illinois): Illinois State Treasurer I-Cash program. Holds $3.5B+ in unclaimed funds.
- [Indiana](/state/indiana): Indiana Attorney General Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Iowa](/state/iowa): Iowa State Treasurer's Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.
- [Kansas](/state/kansas): Kansas State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Kentucky](/state/kentucky): Kentucky State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Branch.
- [Louisiana](/state/louisiana): Louisiana Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Maine](/state/maine): Maine Office of the State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Maryland](/state/maryland): Maryland Comptroller Unclaimed Property Unit.
- [Massachusetts](/state/massachusetts): Massachusetts State Treasurer Abandoned Property Division.
- [Michigan](/state/michigan): Michigan Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Minnesota](/state/minnesota): Minnesota Department of Commerce Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Mississippi](/state/mississippi): Mississippi State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Missouri](/state/missouri): Missouri State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Montana](/state/montana): Montana Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Nebraska](/state/nebraska): Nebraska State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Nevada](/state/nevada): Nevada State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Program.
- [New Hampshire](/state/new-hampshire): New Hampshire State Treasury Abandoned Property Division.
- [New Jersey](/state/new-jersey): New Jersey Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Property Administration.
- [New Mexico](/state/new-mexico): New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department Unclaimed Property Unit.
- [New York](/state/new-york): NY State Comptroller Office of Unclaimed Funds. Holds $19B+ in unclaimed funds : the second-largest state program.
- [North Carolina](/state/north-carolina): NC Department of State Treasurer NCCash program.
- [North Dakota](/state/north-dakota): North Dakota Department of Trust Lands Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Ohio](/state/ohio): Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds.
- [Oklahoma](/state/oklahoma): Oklahoma State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Oregon](/state/oregon): Oregon State Treasury Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Pennsylvania](/state/pennsylvania): Pennsylvania Treasury Department Bureau of Unclaimed Property. Holds $4B+ in unclaimed property.
- [Rhode Island](/state/rhode-island): Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [South Carolina](/state/south-carolina): South Carolina State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Program.
- [South Dakota](/state/south-dakota): South Dakota State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Tennessee](/state/tennessee): Tennessee Department of Treasury ClaimItTN program.
- [Texas](/state/texas): Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts ClaimItTexas. Holds $7B+ in unclaimed property.
- [Utah](/state/utah): Utah State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division (mycash.utah.gov).
- [Vermont](/state/vermont): Vermont State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Virginia](/state/virginia): Virginia Department of the Treasury Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Washington](/state/washington): Washington Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Section.
- [West Virginia](/state/west-virginia): West Virginia State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Wisconsin](/state/wisconsin): Wisconsin Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Program.
- [Wyoming](/state/wyoming): Wyoming State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division.
- [Washington D.C.](/state/district-of-columbia): D.C. Office of Finance and Treasury Unclaimed Property Unit.

## Federal unclaimed funds

- [IRS unclaimed tax refunds](/irs-tax-refund): Over $1.5B in refunds expire unclaimed each year.
- [PBGC pension benefits](/pbgc-pension-benefits): Federal agency holds unclaimed pensions from terminated plans.
- [Unclaimed retirement benefits](/unclaimed-retirement-benefits): 401(k), IRA, and pension tracing.
- [Bank failure recovery](/bank-failure-recovery): FDIC unclaimed deposits from failed banks.
- [VA benefits](/va-benefits): Unclaimed Veterans Affairs benefits.
- [Social Security underpayment](/social-security-underpayment): Recovering miscalculated Social Security benefits.
- [Bankruptcy funds](/bankruptcy-funds): Unclaimed distributions from bankruptcy estates.
- [Stimulus checks](/stimulus-checks): Unclaimed federal stimulus payments.

## City guides

Each city guide has a machine-readable summary at `/city/{slug}.md`.

- [New York City](/city/new-york-city) ([.md](/city/new-york-city.md)): NYC and surrounding-borough unclaimed funds. $5.8B held.
- [Los Angeles](/city/los-angeles) ([.md](/city/los-angeles.md)): LA County unclaimed property. $813M held.
- [Chicago](/city/chicago) ([.md](/city/chicago.md)): Chicago and Cook County unclaimed money. Illinois holds $5B+ statewide.
- [Houston](/city/houston) ([.md](/city/houston.md)): Houston and Harris County unclaimed funds. Texas holds $7B+ statewide.
- [Philadelphia](/city/philadelphia) ([.md](/city/philadelphia.md)): Philadelphia unclaimed funds. PA holds $4B+ statewide.
- [Las Vegas](/city/las-vegas) ([.md](/city/las-vegas.md)): Las Vegas and Clark County unclaimed property.
- [San Francisco](/city/san-francisco) ([.md](/city/san-francisco.md)): San Francisco unclaimed funds. $456M held.
- [San Diego](/city/san-diego) ([.md](/city/san-diego.md)): San Diego unclaimed property. $297M held.
- [San Jose](/city/san-jose) ([.md](/city/san-jose.md)): San Jose unclaimed funds. $227M held.
- [Sacramento](/city/sacramento) ([.md](/city/sacramento.md)): Sacramento unclaimed property. $143M held.

## Topical guides

- [Unclaimed money for deceased relatives](/guides/deceased-relatives): How heirs claim inheritance from unclaimed property.
- [Property prevention](/guides/property-prevention): How to keep your accounts from going dormant.
- [Famous people's unclaimed money](/stories/unclaimed): Celebrity and historical unclaimed funds (Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pope Leo XIV, business leaders, politicians).
- [Unclaimed money for small business](/small-business): How businesses claim escheated funds.
- [Top 10 mistakes claimants make](/top-10-mistakes): Avoidable errors that delay or kill claims.
- [Unclaimed money myths](/unclaimed-myths): Debunking common misconceptions.
- [Unclaimed money statistics](/unclaimed-money-stats): Data on the U.S. unclaimed money landscape.
- [What to expect](/unclaimed-money-expectations): Timelines and realistic recovery amounts.
- [Expedited processing](/expedited-processing): Optional paid expedited assistance.

## Success stories (real, verified recoveries)

- [Brill Burnett : $1,452 in Tennessee](/stories/success/brill-burnett-tennessee)
- [Alan Balch : Virginia](/stories/success/alan-balch-virginia)
- [Richard Merritt : South Carolina](/stories/success/richard-merritt-south-carolina)
- [Pam Hathaway](/stories/success/pam-hathaway)
- [Willie : Illinois](/stories/success/willie-illinois)
- [YMCA of Greater Des Moines : Iowa](/stories/success/ymca-des-moines)
- [Texas brothers](/stories/success/texas-brothers)
- [Robert Walsh](/stories/success/robert-walsh)

## What we recommend

- Search your state's official unclaimed property database directly.
- Search every state you have lived, worked, or done business in : not just your current state.
- For deceased relatives, also search every state where they lived or worked.
- File the claim yourself. It is free and the process is designed for ordinary citizens.

## What we do not recommend

- Paying a "finder" or "locator service" to do a search you can do yourself in 60 seconds.
- Trusting cold callers, mailers, or texts that claim you have unclaimed money : verify directly with the official state database first.
- Sharing your Social Security number with any party other than the official state unclaimed property program.

## Optional

- [Methodology](/methodology): How we rate state programs on timeliness, ease of search, and ease of claiming.
- [Editorial statement](/editorial-statement): Editorial standards and independence policy.
- [How we make money](/how-we-make-money): Our revenue model and disclosure.
- [Privacy policy](/privacy-policy)
- [Terms of service](/terms-of-service)

## Machine-readable resources for AI assistants

- [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt): Single-fetch content bundle with embedded answers to top questions and a one-paragraph summary of every state program.
- [/llms-state-data.json](/llms-state-data.json): Structured directory of all 50 state programs + DC (agency, official URL, phone, total held, processing time, required documents).
- [/llms-glossary.json](/llms-glossary.json): DefinedTermSet of unclaimed money terminology (escheatment, dormancy period, heir claim, finder, NAUPA, etc.).
- [/authors/mark-lewyn.json](/authors/mark-lewyn.json): Author fingerprint (machine-readable Person schema for the site's author Mark Lewyn).
- [/state/{slug}.md](/state/california.md): Plain-text markdown shadow of every state guide. Example: /state/california.md, /state/texas.md, /state/new-york.md.
- [/guides/{slug}.md](/guides/how-to-claim-unclaimed-money.md): Plain-text markdown shadow of every major editorial guide.