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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, 2024 (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 9,171 99% Montana 1,871 100%
Alaska 1,822 100 Nebraska 4,910 97
Arizona 18,690 99 Nevada 15,606 100
Arkansas 5,457 98 New Hampshire 910 100
California 153,048 100 New Jersey 15,231 97
Colorado 29,280 99 New Mexico 10,408 93
Connecticut 8,698 100 New York 29,942 92
Delaware 2,218 100 North Carolina 27,455 96
D.C. 5,579 100 North Dakota 1,489 100
Florida 19,788 78 Ohio 25,775 93
Georgia 23,564 92 Oklahoma 9,163 100
Hawaii 5,526 100 Oregon 12,426 98
Idaho 1,355 100 Pennsylvania 24,832 99
Illinois 36,298 94 Rhode Island 1,340 100
Indiana 14,230 87 South Carolina 11,869 100
Iowa 4,291 97 South Dakota 1,698 89
Kansas 7,524 96 Tennessee 24,412 100
Kentucky 10,643 100 Texas 103,844 99
Louisiana 8,529 81 Utah 4,204 96
Maine 1,134 99 Vermont 424 100
Maryland 25,962 100 Virginia 12,842 100
Massachusetts 7,355 100 Washington 34,633 99
Michigan 23,432 97 West Virginia 1,334 90
Minnesota 12,388 100 Wisconsin 9,676 97
Mississippi 2,804 64 Wyoming 592 90
Missouri 24,869 98      

(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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Resources

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