These Are The Cities With The Highest Car Theft Rates

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You’d better make sure your auto insurance is up to date if you live in or near Albuquerque, New Mexico. That’s because the Albuquerque metropolitan area suffers the highest per-capita rate of car thefts in the U.S, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) annual Hot Spots report. And though the city has implemented programs that have reduced its stolen-car stats by over 26 percent since 2016, it still ranks number one in the nation for purloined rides per resident.

While one might think the nation’s biggest burgs like New York City or Chicago might suffer the highest auto theft rates, and in fact they do register a greater number of car crimes, overall. But smaller cities with fewer residents typically show a higher per-capita frequency than more densely populated areas. While Los Angeles and vicinity reports nearly 54,000 vehicles stolen last year, that figure is spread out over a massive populace, which lands it at number 38 among U.S. cities. On the other hand, sleepy St Joseph, Missouri, with a fraction of L.A.’s citizenry, is ranked at number 10 with a mere 938 vehicles stolen. Perhaps not coincidentally, five of the nation’s hottest spots for vehicle thefts are located in car-loving California.

Here’s the NICB’s list of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas having the largest per-capita car theft rates and the number of vehicles reported stolen last year:

Albuquerque, New Mexico: 7,146
Anchorage, Alaska: 3,087
Bakersfield, California: 6,748
Pueblo, Colorado: 1,175
Modesto, California: 3,428
Redding, California: 1,037
Stockton, California: 4,287
Wichita, Kansas: 3,547
Vallejo, California: 2,404
St. Joseph, Missouri: 674

Here’s how the NICB ranks the nation’s 10 largest cities in terms of car thefts per resident, with the total stolen during 2018 noted:

38. Los Angeles, California: 53,928
66. San Diego, California: 11,091
57. Houston, Texas: 24,481
78. San Antonio, Texas: 7,993
83. Dallas, Texas: 23,261
98. Phoenix, Arizona: 13,469
115. San Jose, California: 5,160
133. Chicago, Illinois: 22,688
193. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 11,214
299. New York City, New York: 19,789

The Hot Spots report ranks 383 U.S. metro areas according to their auto theft frequency relative to population. It’s based on data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s preliminary Uniform Crime Report based on thefts reported during the first six months of 2018.

The NICB notes that older vehicles, especially those that originally sold in large numbers, continue to be most frequently targeted by thieves. They include well-worn versions of the Honda Accord and Civic, Toyota Camry and Corolla, and the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150, GMC Sierra, and Dodge/Ram full-size pickup trucks. They’re most often driven or towed to so-called chop shops where key components are harvested and sold to unscrupulous auto parts dealers and/or to unsuspecting consumers via the Internet.

Overall, the FBI’s preliminary stats indicate that car thefts decreased by 3.3 percent last year, and by a whopping 53 percent since they peaked in 2004. This massive drop can largely be attributed to advancements in technology, including widespread adoption of “smart key” technology that keeps a car’s engine from starting unless it recognizes a computer chip embedded within a key or a keyless-start key fob.

Unfortunately, no anti-theft system can prevent a car from being stolen due to sheer negligence. The NICB reports that 229,339 vehicles were taken from 2016-2018 simply because their owners either left the keys in the ignition or had the keyless-entry key fob sitting in a bin or cup holder while parked. That amounts to an average of 209 cars and trucks pilfered per day that practically begged to be driven off. Though it may seem obvious, always take the keys or key fob with you whenever you’re leaving a vehicle, no matter for however brief a period.

You can read the NICB’s full report and download a complete list of all 383 ranked cities, and theft rates broken down by areas in each state here.

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