The State of Auto Theft in the U.S.

In 2020, the last year the FBI released national data on motor vehicle thefts, there were 246 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. This was an increase of 10 percent from the previous year.

While both violent and property crime has decreased since the early 1990s¹, 2020 saw a spike in motor vehicle theft. This increase may have something to do with economic hardships and unemployment following the COVID-19 pandemic.

David S. Abrams — a professor of law, business economics, and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania — explained that because people were spending more time at home, there was less surveillance and more privacy at nonresidential buildings. Cars were left unattended for longer periods, leading to an increase in car theft.²

You are much more likely to experience motor vehicle theft in certain regions, states, and cities compared to the national average.

Motor Vehicle Theft Rates by Region

The average motor vehicle theft rate is highest on the West Coast, with an average of 302 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. It’s least likely to occur in the Midwest, where the rates are 54 percent lower than the national average.

Motor Vehicle Theft Rates by State

Colorado is the worst state for motor vehicle theft, with 524 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020. In other words, you are 53 percent more likely to experience motor vehicle theft in Colorado than in the rest of the country. Runners-up include Washington, D.C.; New Mexico; and California.

The states with the lowest auto theft rates were Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, all in the New England region of the Northeast. In Vermont, there were only 42 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, making car theft there 480 percent lower than the national average.

Of the 10 states with the lowest auto theft rates, nine are on the East Coast.

Motor Vehicle Theft Rates by City

The majority of the cities with the highest auto theft rates are on the West Coast. Bakersfield, California, has the highest motor vehicle theft rates of any city in the U.S., with a whopping 905 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020.

Similarly, the cities with the lowest auto theft rates were largely in the Northeast. The city with the lowest motor vehicle theft rate was State College, Pennsylvania, with only 17 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. Perhaps it’s the city’s steady economy, bolstered by Pennsylvania State University’s University Park campus, which employs 22,000 people.³

In 2019, victims of motor vehicle theft lost a total of $6.4 billion. There were 612,187 reported motor vehicle thefts throughout the year, meaning an $8,886 average loss per vehicle.

Car theft can encompass many stolen times: personal items stolen from cars, car parts, and entire vehicles.

Items

These are some items most commonly stolen from cars:

• Car radios and speakers
• Car registration
• Electronic devices (phones, laptops, etc.)
• GPS devices

Car Parts

These are the most commonly stolen car parts:

• Catalytic converters
• License plates and tags
• Rims and tires
• Third-row seats
• Truck tailgates⁴

Catalytic converter theft in particular has increased greatly since the pandemic — by 306 percent from December 2019 to 2020 alone. Catalytic converters contain precious metals such as platinum and can be sold for $50 to $250 each.

Cars

Theft occurs with older cars more often than newer cars. Car thieves are more familiar with older cars, so they’re easier to break into. Additionally, new cars are more likely to have anti-theft devices and cameras. In 2020, the most common model year for stolen vehicles was 2007, making them 13 years old.

Note that this data only covers motor vehicle thefts reported to the police department. There is no good national data on vehicle recovery or methods of break-in, such as hot-wiring — just the number and location of thefts.

If your car or parts of your car are stolen, will car insurance cover theft? The answer is yes, if you have comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive coverage applies to damages to your car caused by events other than collisions, including theft, weather-related incidents, and vandalism. However, no state’s minimum coverage includes comprehensive coverage, so you would’ve had to add this coverage optionally.

With comprehensive coverage, you could be reimbursed for a stolen car or car parts. However, it won’t cover items stolen from your car (like laptops) or aftermarket upgrades (like custom parts). Instead, your homeowners or renters insurance would cover your personal property under “off-premises coverage.” For custom parts, you may need to buy additional insurance, as comprehensive coverage only applies to permanent and pre-installed car parts.

Especially if you’re on the West Coast, you should be wary of motor vehicle theft. Even if you live in an area with low theft rates, such as Vermont, it’s best to have comprehensive coverage. If your car is stolen, comprehensive coverage would reimburse you for your vehicle’s actual market value — or what you paid for it if you have gap insurance. Learn more about how we conduct our auto insurance research in our methodology below.

To compile this report, we used the most recent third-party data — from 2020 and 2019 — from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. We also used 2020 data from the Pew Research Center, Econofact, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Pennsylvania State University, and Texas-based CCTV company LotGuard.