In 2025, many Americans likely noticed an uptick in the number of robocalls they received. Recent data unveiled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday highlights a significant increase in complaints about these intrusive calls, particularly in some states more than others.

The FTC, which manages the National Do Not Call Registry, reported receiving over 2.6 million complaints throughout the year. The top five categories triggering these complaints included calls about reducing debt, with 446,243 complaints; imposters, amassing 246,228 complaints; medical and prescription-related calls, with 208,228 complaints; energy, solar, and utility calls, totaling 35,378 complaints; and those related to home improvement and cleaning, with 28,571 complaints.

Interestingly, while the rise in robocall grievances is notable for 2025, it remains significantly lower compared to the figures from 2021. During that year, the FTC was inundated with approximately 5 million complaints, a staggering 52% more than this year’s tally.

• Arizona – 1,028 complaints per 100,000 people
• Tennessee – 1,017 complaints per 100,000 people
• Nevada – 960 complaints per 100,000 people
• Illinois – 943 complaints per 100,000 people
• Florida – 933 complaints per 100,000 people

For those who feel overwhelmed by these calls, signing up for the Do Not Call Registry can reduce some of the unwanted disturbances, though it won’t eliminate them entirely.

Will the National Do Not Call Registry black all unwanted calls?

Signing up with the Do Not Call Registry will prevent some, but not all unwanted calls.

The registry is designed to stop “sales calls from real companies that follow the law,” and tells registered telemarketers who they shouldn’t be calling. Unfortunately, the list won’t stop calls from that crook with a timeshare to sell or a fake charity to pitch.

“The good guys aren’t going to trespass on your property, and the guy who’s going to burglarize it doesn’t care,” Alex Quilici, CEO of spam call-blocking service YouMail, told Nexstar previously. “We see the exact same thing with the robo-callers and the Do Not Call list. The good guys – like your credit card company – they’re not going to tele-market to you … but the scammers are trying to steal from you.” So who cares about a penalty for making a phone call? And so that’s why it doesn’t really work.”

The FTC echoes Quilici’s statement on its website, adding this advice for consumers:

“One reason people get a lot of unwanted calls is because it’s easy and cheap for scammers to call people anywhere in the world. To get fewer unwanted calls, look into call-blocking and call-labeling services. There are different call-blocking and call-labeling options for cell phones, traditional landlines, and home phones that make calls over the internet (VoIP).”

While the Registry is not entirely foolproof, cellphone owners may decide that any decrease in unsolicited phone calls is worth signing up. If there’s no immediate, noticeable decrease in robocalls, the FTC advises that it may take up to 31 days for the sales calls to stop.

Consumers who wish to report unwanted calls or add their phone number to the Do Not Call Registry can do so on the FTC website.

Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.