Facts + Statistics: Auto theft

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Key Facts

  • The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that over 1 million vehicles were stolen in 2022, a 7 percent increase over 2021 and surpassing 1 million for the first time since 2008. California and Texas had the most reported stolen vehicles, and Illinois had the largest increase, estimated at 35 percent between 2021 and 2022.
  • According to NICB Vehicle Theft Trend Data: 
    • Vehicle thefts increased 7 percent in 2022.
    • Popular full-size pickups continue at the top of the list as the type of most stolen vehicle.
    • The Hyundai Sonata and Hyundai Elantra are new to the top 10 list in 2022.
    • If reported stolen in the first 24 hours, passenger vehicles had a 34 percent same-day recovery rate in 2022. More than 85 percent of stolen vehicles were recovered in 2022.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019-2022

 

Year Estimated total vehicle thefts Percent change
2019 801,023 NA
2020 888,011 11%
2021 937,976 6
2022 1,001,967 7

NA= Data not available.

Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Top 10 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas By Motor Vehicle Theft Rate, 2022

 

Rank Metropolitan statistical area (1) Theft rate (2)
1 Pueblo, CO 1,086.44 
2 Bakersfield, CA 1,072.36 
3 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 1,062.67 
4 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 845.68 
5 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 796.94 
6 Albuquerque, NM 795.18 
7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 758.68 
8 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA 699.30 
9 Greeley, CO 589.42 
10 Kansas City, MO-KS 572.67 

(1) Metropolitan Statistical Areas are designated by the federal Office of Management and Budget and usually include areas much larger than the cities for which they are named.
(2) Rate of vehicle thefts reported per 100,000 people based on U.S. Census Population Estimates.

Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Top 10 States With The Most Number Of Motor Vehicle Thefts, 2021-2022

 

Rank State 2022 (1) 2021 Percent change
2021-2022
1 California 202,685 201,034 1%
2 Texas 105,015 95,082 10
3 Washington 46,939 35,921 31
4 Florida 45,973 43,250 6
5 Colorado 42,237 38,570 10
6 Illinois 38,649 28,677 35
7 Ohio 29,913 28,107 6
8 Missouri 29,345 26,630 10
9 New York 28,292 23,088 23
10 Georgia 26,529 26,238 1

(1) Law Enforcement Agencies may still be reporting thefts for 2022, and these numbers may change.

Source:  National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Motor Vehicle Thefts By State, 2021 (1)

 

State Motor vehicle
theft incidents (2)		 Percent of population
covered by reporting law
enforcement agencies (3)		 State Motor vehicle
theft incidents (2)		 Percent of population
covered by reporting law
enforcement agencies (3)
Alabama 7,308 82% Montana 2,967 97%
Alaska 611 56 Nebraska 1,750 73
Arizona 5,823 52 Nevada 13,709 99
Arkansas 8,110 97 New Hampshire 892 98
California 11,272 29 New Jersey 5,207 48
Colorado 40,853 99 New Mexico 7,316 85
Connecticut 7,407 98 New York 4,088 20
Delaware 1,609 98 North Carolina 18,779 97
D.C. 1,716 100 North Dakota 2,085 96
Florida 50 17 Ohio 19,402 91
Georgia 17,985 89 Oklahoma 15,387 99
Hawaii 4,286 85 Oregon 19,242 100
Idaho 1,618 96 Pennsylvania 7,648 36
Illinois 11,735 64 Rhode Island 1,635 99
Indiana 12,585 82 South Carolina 13,937 99
Iowa 5,799 93 South Dakota 1,959 89
Kansas 5,681 90 Tennessee 20,142 100
Kentucky 11,100 99 Texas 87,053 98
Louisiana 7,505 73 Utah 7,960 93
Maine 891 96 Vermont 450 97
Maryland 4,026 65 Virginia 11,248 100
Massachusetts 6,819 99 Washington 35,326 99
Michigan 21,283 93 West Virginia 1,797 89
Minnesota 14,562 94 Wisconsin 15,950 94
Mississippi 3,059 59 Wyoming 856 76

(1) Includes the District of Columbia. Does not include a total for the United States because data in this chart is compiled on a different basis than the national totals released by the FBI.
(2) Beginning in 2021, state totals comprise of incidents submitted by law enforcement agencies to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
(3) States have varying degrees of reporting data to the NIBRS.  Percent of population covered shown.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer.

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Motorcycle Thefts, 2022

 

  Top five motorcycle makes stolen   Top three states by motorcycle thefts
Rank Make Thefts Rank State Thefts
1  American Honda Motor Co., Inc.  10,631 1  California  9,838
2 Yamaha Motor Corporation  8,358 2 Florida 4,563
3 Harley Davidson, Inc.  6,333 3 Texas 4,145
4 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.  6,260
5 American Suzuki Motor Corporation  4,886

Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Most stolen vehicles

Top 10 Most Frequently Stolen Vehicles, 2022

 

  All model years (1)  
Rank Model Thefts Most common
model year stolen
1 Chevrolet Full Size Pick-up        49,903 2004
2 Ford Full Size Pick-up 48,175 2006
3 Honda Civic 27,113 2000
4 Honda Accord 27,089 1997
5 Hyundai Sonata 21,707 2013
6 Hyundai Elantra 19,602 2017
7 Kia Optima 18,221 2015
8 Toyota Camry 17,094 2021
9 GMC Full Size Pick-up 16,622 2005
10 Honda CR-V 13,832 2001

(1) Includes all model years for each vehicle.

Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Resources

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