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Facts + Statistics: Auto theft

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Key Facts

  • The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported less than 1 million vehicles were stolen in 2024 – a drop below the one million mark for the first time since 2021 and the largest decrease in stolen vehicles in the last 40 years. The 2024 figure is a 16.7 percent decrease from 2023.
  • According to NICB Vehicle Theft Trend Data:
    • Kia and Hyundai vehicles experienced the highest theft rates in 2023, breaking the years-long trend of full-size pickups topping the list. 
    • If reported stolen in the first 24 hours, passenger vehicles had a 34 percent same-day recovery rate in 2023. More than 85 percent of stolen vehicles were recovered in 2023. 

Motor Vehicle Theft

Motor Vehicle Theft, 2020-2024 (1)

 

Year Estimated total vehicle thefts Percent change
2020 880,595 9.9%
2021 932,329 5.9
2022 1,008,756 8.2
2023 1,020,729 1.2
2024 850,708 -16.7

(1) Law Enforcement Agencies may still be reporting thefts for 2024, and these numbers may change.

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, 2022-2023 (1)

 

Rank State 2023 2022 Percent change
2022-2023
1 California 208,668 202,685 3%
2 Texas 115,013 105,015 10
3 Florida 46,213 45,973 1
4 Washington 43,160 46,939 -8
5 Illinois 41,528 38,649 7
6 Colorado 34,068 42,237 -19
7 New York 32,715 28,292 16
8 Ohio 31,647 29,913 6
9 Georgia 28,171 26,529 6
10 Missouri 27,279 29,345 -7

(1) Law Enforcement Agencies may still be reporting thefts for 2023, and these numbers may change.

Source:  National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Motor Vehicle Thefts By State, 2022 (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 8,757 89% Montana 2,509 98%
Alaska 637 60 Nebraska 2,021 72
Arizona 7,667 62 Nevada 15,654 99
Arkansas 7,436 98 New Hampshire 902 98
California 65,464 54 New Jersey 9,393 63
Colorado 45,599 99 New Mexico 10,859 88
Connecticut 7,009 98 New York 6,332 24
Delaware 1,658 98 North Carolina 20,366 97
D.C. 3,907 100 North Dakota 1,994 97
Florida 8,558 38 Ohio 26,339 94
Georgia 19,703 88 Oklahoma 12,736 100
Hawaii 4,621 100 Oregon 22,816 100
Idaho 1,734 96 Pennsylvania 14,370 38
Illinois 31,341 85 Rhode Island 1,717 99
Indiana 11,678 85 South Carolina 12,726 99
Iowa 4,285 93 South Dakota 2,114 88
Kansas 6,204 90 Tennessee 25,562 100
Kentucky 9,486 99 Texas 98,026 99
Louisiana 8,128 74 Utah 6,631 96
Maine 980 95 Vermont 595 96
Maryland 11,711 91 Virginia 13,673 100
Massachusetts 6,986 100 Washington 49,693 99
Michigan 26,155 92 West Virginia 1,383 88
Minnesota 16,540 94 Wisconsin 13,033 95
Mississippi 2,898 63 Wyoming 629 76
Missouri 30,267 97

(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, 2023

 

  All model years (1)  
Rank Model Thefts
1 Hyundai Elantra 48,445
2 Hyundai Sonata 42,813
3 Kia Optima 30,204
4 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 23,721
5 Kia Soul 21,001
6 Honda Accord 20,895
7 Honda Civic 19,858
8 Kia Forte 16,209
9 Ford F150 Series Pickup 15,852
10 Kia Sportage 15,749

(1) Includes all model years for each vehicle.

Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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