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Saturday, June 6, 2026

US Stolen Car Statistics, 2015 - 2024

It has been quite an epidemic here in Dayton, Ohio of late -- just my anecdotal sense of things, from local news reports.  A reflection of a major problem with youth, a flagrant disregard for personal property and the law, and a search for thrills in a world slowly unravelling before our eyes. Yes, car theft has always been a problem, but not at this level and not with such a proliferation of guns in the hands of young people.  At the suburbs do not bring immunity to this act.

U.S. Auto Theft Statistics, 2015–2024

Below are reported U.S. motor vehicle theft cases for the most recent ten-year period available, using FBI-based data compiled by Statista; rates are thefts per 100,000 population. 1 2 The 2021 figure should be interpreted carefully because the FBI noted that 2021 estimates were primarily NIBRS submissions plus nominal SRS data and were below a statistically acceptable level for national comparability. 1 2

YearReported motor vehicle theftsTheft rate per 100,000 peopleYear-over-year change
2015710,265221.0
2016769,788238.2+8.4%
2017768,860236.0-0.1%
2018761,434232.7-1.0%
2019725,198220.9-4.8%
2020817,486248.1+12.7%
2021801,471241.5-2.0%
2022948,119284.5+18.3%
20231,082,010321.3+14.1%
2024880,327258.8-18.6%

The ten-year total for 2015–2024 was approximately 8.26 million reported motor vehicle thefts, calculated from the annual FBI-based case counts above. 1 The highest year in this period was 2023, with 1,082,010 reported cases and a rate of 321.3 per 100,000 people. 1 2 The lowest year in this period was 2015, with 710,265 reported cases and a rate of 221.0 per 100,000 people. 1 2 From 2015 to 2024, reported thefts increased by about 24%, based on the change from 710,265 to 880,327 cases. 1

Key Takeaways

Auto thefts rose sharply after 2019, increasing from 725,198 reported cases in 2019 to 1,082,010 in 2023. 1 The 2023 level was the peak of the ten-year period and represented the only year in this table above one million reported motor vehicle theft cases. 1 In 2024, reported cases fell to 880,327, a decrease of about 18.6% from 2023. 1

A separate NICB release reported 850,708 vehicles stolen nationwide in 2024, down from 1,020,729 in 2023, and described the 2024 decline as the largest annual decrease in stolen vehicles in 40 years. 3 The NICB series differs somewhat from the FBI-reported case series, so it is best used as a related but not identical measure of vehicle theft activity. 3 1





Why pick up trucks?  Are they easier to steal?

Most-Stolen Vehicles by Year, U.S., 2015–2024

YearMost-stolen vehicle/modelReported theftsNotes
2015Honda Accord52,244NICB listed the 1996 Honda Accord as the most-stolen vehicle/model-year combination in 2015. 1
2016Honda Accord50,427NICB reported the Honda Accord as the most-stolen vehicle in 2016, with the 1997 model year most often stolen. 5
2017Honda Civic45,062NICB reported the Honda Civic as the most-stolen vehicle in 2017, with the 1998 model year most often stolen. 6
2018Honda Civic38,426NICB reported the Honda Civic as the most-stolen vehicle in 2018, with the 2000 model year most often stolen. 7
2019Ford full-size pickup38,938NICB reported the Ford full-size pickup as the most-stolen vehicle in 2019, replacing the Honda Civic at the top. 8
2020Ford full-size pickup44,014NICB reported the Ford full-size pickup as the most-stolen vehicle in 2020. 9
2021Chevrolet full-size pickup48,206NICB-based reporting showed Chevrolet full-size pickups ranked first in 2021, narrowly ahead of Ford full-size pickups. 10
2022Chevrolet full-size pickup49,903NICB reported Chevrolet full-size pickups as the most-stolen vehicle in 2022. 11
2023Hyundai Elantra48,445NICB reported the Hyundai Elantra as the most-stolen vehicle in 2023, as Hyundai/Kia thefts surged. 2
2024Hyundai Elantra31,712NICB reported the Hyundai Elantra as the most-stolen vehicle in 2024. 12

Main Pattern

From 2015–2018, older Honda Accord and Honda Civic models dominated the national most-stolen list. 1 5 6 7 From 2019–2022, full-size Ford and Chevrolet pickups became the leading theft targets. 8 9 10 11 In 2023–2024, Hyundai and Kia models, especially the Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Sonata, rose sharply in the rankings. 2 12

Least-Stolen Vehicles / Lowest Theft Risk

There is not a single official annual NICB list of the “least stolen” vehicles for every year from 2015–2024 in the same format as the most-stolen list. 1 2 The best available “least stolen” evidence comes from HLDI-style insurance loss data, which compares theft claims relative to how many insured vehicles are on the road. 3 4

Lowest-theft-risk vehicle or categoryEvidence
Tesla Model 3 4WDListed among vehicles with near-zero whole-vehicle theft claims in HLDI-based reporting. 3
Tesla Model 3 2WDListed among the least-stolen vehicles in HLDI-based reporting. 3
Tesla Model Y 4WDListed among the least-stolen vehicles in HLDI-based reporting. 3
Toyota RAV4 Prime 4WDReported by HLDI coverage as one of the least-stolen vehicles, ranking fourth in a 2022–2024 analysis summarized by Minq. 4
Tesla Model S 4WDReported by HLDI coverage as one of the least-stolen vehicles, ranking fifth in a 2022–2024 analysis summarized by Minq. 4
Electric vehicles broadlyHLDI-based reporting found electric vehicles were prominent among the least-stolen vehicles, partly because they are often garaged, connected, trackable, and harder to resell after theft. 3 4
Station wagons and minivans as categoriesHLDI-based reporting described station wagons and minivans as among the lowest-theft vehicle classes. 3

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