20+ Telling Password Statistics [2022]: Why You Should Change Your Password Habits

Research Summary. There’s always that frustrating moment when you realize not only do you not remember your password, but you also don’t remember how to access that decade-old Gmail you attached it to. Trust us; we’ve all been there.

For that reason, many people opt to use similar passwords, or the same password, across all of their accounts. While this might seem convenient at first, it’s actually a major security hazard.

But you’ve heard this before, right? How bad could it be? As it turns out, bad. To find out more about password habits and how they impact your data, we’ve gathered essential facts about passwords. According to our extensive research:

• 80% of hacking breaches are related to password issues.

• 54% of employees reuse passwords across work, and personal accounts

• People have 100 passwords on average.

• 13% of Americans use the same password across all of their accounts.

• 23 million accounts still use the password 123456.

Reused Password Statistics

Memorizing multiple passwords isn’t easy, which is why so many people choose to reuse the same passwords over and over. To understand just how common password reuse is, here are some general statistics:

• 52% of Americans use the same password for multiple (but not all) accounts.

  Many Americans reuse the same password for the sake of convenience, and 66% only change their password in response to a login alert, which can leave other accounts vulnerable.

• 13% of Americans use the same password across all of their accounts.

  Believe it or not, over one in ten Americans use the same password across all of their accounts. This means that if someone were to hack into an unimportant account, they could easily access your loans, bank accounts, and more.

• Only 35% of Americans don’t reuse passwords.

  Only just over a third of Americans don’t reuse passwords, while 65% reuse passwords on some or all of their accounts.

  Password reuse	Share of Americans
  Reuse passwords on all accounts	13%
  Reuse passwords on multiple accounts	52%
  Don’t reuse passwords	35%

Weak Password Statistics

The issue of reusing passwords is often further compounded by the prevalence of weak passwords. Weak passwords are easy to guess and hack, making them especially vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Here are the facts:

• 59% of Americans use their name or birthday in their password.

  As it turns out, knowing your neighbor’s name and remembering the date of their birthday might just be enough to hack their accounts. This means that the majority of Americans not only have weak passwords but also reuse these passwords across multiple accounts.

• 17% of Americans have guessed someone’s password correctly.

  Out of the 27% of Americans who’ve tried to guess someone’s password, 17% have guessed correctly. This puts into perspective just how many vulnerable passwords are too simple to guess.

• 57% of people who have been scammed in phishing attacks still haven’t changed their password.

  Despite the fact that hacks can result in passwords leaking onto the dark web and the broader internet, the majority of people who’ve been scammed still don’t change their passwords after the incident.

• 123456 is the most commonly used weak password.

  23 million accounts use this as their password, but it’s not the only bad password out there; others among the worst you can use include:

  • 123456

  • 123456789

  • 12345

  • qwerty

  • password

  • 12345678

  • 111111

  • 123123

  • 1234567890

  • 1234567

Password Behavior and Opinion Statistics

Part of the reason why passwords in the US are so lacking is due to the limitations and frustrations of those forced to use them. For example:

• 75% of Americans are frustrated with passwords.

  Memorizing and recalling passwords has become a real hassle for Americans, who by in large are frustrated with the task. This also carries over to two-step verification and captcha codes, which 48% and 71% are fed up with, respectively.

• 57% of people prefer a passwordless method for accounts.

  While a further 70% regularly choose a passwordless method when given the option. Out of businesses, a whopping 91% believe that going passwordless is the future.

• 49% of Americans rely on their memory to manage passwords.

  As opposed to 59% of UK citizens and 55% of the global population. Despite the fact that Americans are slightly less likely to rely on memory, nearly half the population is still a considerable amount of people.

• 38.6% of people write their passwords down on a piece of paper.

  While 27.7% use a secure password manager, 17.7% reuse the same password from memory, 9.5% keep all their passwords in a file on their computer, and 6.6% store their passwords in Dropbox or a similar storage method.

  Password recall method	Share of respondents
  Written on piece of paper	38.6%
  Secure password manager	27.7%
  Reuse on multiple accounts	17.7%
  Storage file on computer	9.5%
  Dropbox or similar	6.6%

• 78% of people have reset at least one password every 90 days because they forgot it.

  Forgetting passwords is extremely common, even when people do write them down. By the 90-day mark, over three-quarters of people have had to reset at least one password.

Workplace Password Statistics

Workplace passwords are often at an even higher security risk, making it essential to use strong passwords. To understand why strong passwords are so important for businesses, here are some essential facts:

• Employees reuse a password an average of 13 times.

  This increases the risk of a data breach, which can cost multiple companies, employees, and consumers loads of time, money, and headaches.

• 69% of employees share passwords with colleagues.

  This might not seem like a big deal at first, but it also means that your colleague would have access to your accounts, even if they’re no longer working the same job. This can create huge security risks for you and the company, as there are potentially several people who are no longer employed who have access to business accounts.

• 81% of company data breaches are caused by poor passwords.

  Creating poor passwords and reusing them can have disastrous effects on companies and result in the highest percentage of data breaches. Given that companies are more likely to be targeted for hacks than individual people, this can have disastrous consequences for dozens to millions of people.

• 62% of employees have shared work passwords via text or email.

  The majority of passwords are shared through email and text, but a further 19% have also shared passwords using a Google doc.

Password Statistics FAQ

1. What percentage of people reuse passwords?

   65% of people reuse passwords. This is split between the 52% who reuse passwords on just a few accounts and the 13% who reuse the same password on all of their accounts.

   Reusing passwords can be especially damaging, as passwords are regular targets for hackers. Passwords are leaked in 64% of all data breaches, meaning that just one of these breaches would have a high likelihood of putting every account at risk for someone who reuses passwords.

2. What percentage of people have weak passwords?

   83% of people use weak passwords. This includes the 59% of Americans who use either their name or birthday as their password.

   You might be surprised how easy it is to guess a weak password. Believe it or not, of the 27% of Americans who’ve tried to guess someone’s password, 17% have guessed correctly. That means that when you have a weak password, people have over a 63% chance of simply guessing it.

3. What are the most common passwords?

   The most common password is 123456, which is used by at least 23 million accounts. Overall, 24% of all Americans use some variation of abc123, Password, 123456, Iloveyou, 111111, Qwerty, Admin, and Welcome as their passwords. With other common passwords including:

   • 123456

   • 123456789

   • 12345

   • qwerty

   • password

   • 12345678

   • 111111

   • 123123

   • 1234567890

   • 1234567

4. How many data breaches are caused by poor password security?

   81% of company data breaches are caused by poor password security. This can be caused by weak passwords, reusing passwords, and sharing passwords. And given that employees reuse passwords an average of 13 times, and 69% share their passwords with their colleagues, things aren’t looking up.

   Creating poor passwords and reusing them can have disastrous effects on companies and result in the highest percentage of data breaches. Given that companies are more likely to be targeted for hacks than individual people, this can have disastrous consequences for dozens to millions of people.

5. What is the strongest password type?

   The strongest password type is one that has 12 characters, one uppercase letter, one number, and one symbol. This type of password is considered practically unbreakable, as it would take a computer 34,000 years to crack it.

   In order to create multiple of these strong passwords, people often employ a secure password manager to help them maintain and remember these passwords.

6. How common is it to forget a password?

   It is extremely common to forget a password, with 78% of people having to reset at least one password every 90 days because they forgot it. In fact, 21% of people forget a password after only two weeks of creating it.

   Many try to mitigate this by writing passwords down on paper or on their computers, but this poses its own security risks. Not to mention how easy it is to lose a sticky note.

   This is yet another reason why using a secure password manager can help you remember passwords without the security risk of reusing or writing them down in insecure locations.

Conclusion

Password security is in a shaky state; with 65% of Americans reusing passwords and many others using weak passwords, it’s exceptionally easy for hackers to gain access. As of 2022, 81% of company data breaches are the result of poor passwords, highlighting just how damaging our password practices are.

As frustrating as passwords might be, it’s imperative to prioritize password security. This can be done by creating passwords that have 12 characters, one uppercase letter, one number, and one symbol while avoiding password reuse and refusing to share passwords with others.

We recommend using a secure password manager to help manage all of these passwords, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting.

References

1. Cloudnine – Over 80 Percent of Hacking Related Breaches Were Related to Password Issues: Cybersecurity Trends

2. Help Net Security – 54% of all employees reuse passwords across multiple work accounts

3. Earthweb – How many passwords does the average person have in 2022?

4. Google/Harris Poll – Online Security Survey

5. WorkSmart – 59% of Americans Use a Name or Date of Birth in Their Passwords

6. Tom’s Guide – Here’s 2022’s worst passwords — don’t use any of these

7. New York Post – Americans are sick and tired of passwords and security questions

8. Security – 70% of Consumers Choose Passwordless MFA Login Over Traditional Usernames and Passwords

9. Security – 92% of businesses believe going passwordless is the future

10. Help Net Security – 55% of people rely on their memory to manage passwords

11. Digital Guardian – Uncovering Password Habits: Are Users’ Password Security Habits Improving? (Infographic)

12. Help Net Security – 78% of people forgot a password in the past 90 days

13. PassCamp – Employees reuse passwords 13 times, on average. What can you do?

14. Betanews – 69 percent of employees share passwords with colleagues

15. CybersecurityDive – Employees can’t quit habit of writing down, sharing passwords

Author

Jack Flynn

Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.