State Laws on Age Requirements and Sex

State	Age of Consent	Minimum age of victim (age below which a person is not legally allowed to have sex)	Age differential between the victim and defendant (if the difference between the two ages is greater than this number then sex would not be legally allowed)
Alabama	16	12	2
Alaska	16	N/A	3
Arizona	18	15	2 (defendant must be in high school and less than 19)
Arkansas	16	N/A	3 (if victim is less than 14)
California	18	18	N/A
Colorado	17	N/A	4 (if victim is less than 15), 10 (if victim is less than 17)
Connecticut	16	N/A	2
Delaware	18	16	N/A
District of Columbia	16	N/A	2
Florida	18	16	N/A
Georgia	16	16	N/A
Hawaii	16	14	5
Idaho	18	18	N/A
Illinois	17	17	N/A
Indiana	16	14	N/A
Iowa	16	14	4
Kansas	16	16	N/A
Kentucky	16	16	N/A
Louisiana	17	13	3 (if victim is less than 15), 2 (if victim is less than 17)
Maine	16	14	5
Maryland	16	N/A	4
Massachusetts	16	16	N/A
Michigan	16	16	N/A
Minnesota	16	N/A	3 (if victim is less than 13), 2 (if victim is less than 16)
Mississippi	16	N/A	2 (if the victim is less than 14), 3 (if the victim is less than 16)
Missouri	17	14	N/A
Montana	16	16	N/A
Nebraska	16	16	N/A
Nevada	16	16	N/A
New Hampshire	16	16	N/A
New Jersey	16	13	4
New Mexico	16	13	4
New York	17	17	N/A
North Carolina	16	N/A	4
North Dakota	18	15	N/A
Ohio	16	13	N/A
Oklahoma	16	14	N/A
Oregon	18	15	3
Pennsylvania	16	13	4
Rhode Island	16	14	N/A
South Carolina	16	14	Illegal if victim is 14 to 16 and defendant is older than victim
South Dakota	16	10	3
Tennessee	18	13	4
Texas	17	14	3
Utah	18	16	10
Vermont	16	16	N/A
Virginia	18	15	N/A
Washington	16	N/A	2 (if victim is less than 12), 3 (if victim is less than 14), 4 (if victim is less than 16)
West Virginia	16	N/A	4 (if victim is less than 11)
Wisconsin	18	18	N/A
Wyoming	16	N/A	4

Note: some states have marital exemptions. This table assumes that the two parties are not married to each other.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements, 2004.

Last revised: August 06, 2008