Are You Living In One Of The Most Car Theft-Prone Cities In The U.S.?

While the number of car thefts dropped by almost half between 1999 and 2014, due largely to improvements in new-vehicle security, they’ve been steadily increasing over the past few years. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, thieves drove off nearly 750,000 vehicles during 2018, which is six percent higher than in 2014.

According to an analysis of crime data conducted by the website BuyAutoInsurance.com, though big cities inherently suffer more car thefts due to the sheer number of vehicles on the road, there is little relationship between population size and the likelihood of having a vehicle stolen. That’s why in the website’s list of the 15 U.S. cities having the highest likelihood of car thefts you’ll find relatively small burgs like Anchorage, Alaska and Hayward, California.

Overall, vehicle theft is the fourth most common type of crime committed in the U.S. after larceny/theft, burglary, and aggravated assault. Perhaps not surprisingly cities that suffer high overall crime rates – especially for violent crimes like murder and manslaughter ­– and those having a large percentage of residents living in poverty tend to rack up the most car thefts per 100,000 citizens.

That’s in part why those living in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois, with low rates of crime, poverty, and unemployment, are the least likely to have their cars stolen among the 178 largest U.S. cities, with a reported theft rate of just 26 per 100,000 residents during 2018.

Among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, New York City sits at number 171 on the list of most car theft-prone cities with 65 per 100K residents, Chicago is at number 81 with 373 per 100K, and Los Angeles ranks at number 69 with 430 taken per 100K residents.

Here are the 15 cities having the highest car theft rates, along with pertinent data, according to BuyAutoInsurance.com, based on FBI’s Uniform Crime Report and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey:

1. Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Car theft rate: 1,181 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 6,616
• Violent crime rate: 1,365 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 15.2%
• Unemployment rate: 4.8%

2. Oakland, California

• Car theft rate: 1,179 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 5,071
• Violent crime rate: 1,274 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 15.3%
• Unemployment rate: 6.8%

3. Portland, Oregon

• Car theft rate: 1,055 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 6,932
• Violent crime rate: 520 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 14.7%
• Unemployment rate: 4.5%

4. San Bernardino, California

• Car theft rate: 1,006 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 2,194
• Violent crime rate: 1,333 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 22.7%
• Unemployment rate: 11.5%

5. Anchorage, Alaska

• Car theft rate: 967 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 2,823
• Violent crime rate: 1,310 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 9.9%
• Unemployment rate: 5.7%

6. Detroit, Michigan

• Car theft rate: 961 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 6,454
• Violent crime rate: 2,008 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 34.5%
• Unemployment rate: 15.8%

7. St. Louis, Missouri

• Car theft rate: 896 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 2,750
• Violent crime rate: 1,800 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 20.3%
• Unemployment rate: 7.0%

8. Springfield, Missouri

• Car theft rate: 872 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 1,470
• Violent crime rate: 1,316 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 22.3%
• Unemployment rate: 5.0%

9. Tacoma, Washington

• Car theft rate: 870 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 1,877
• Violent crime rate: 867 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 14.9%
• Unemployment rate: 4.9%

10. Hayward, California

• Car theft rate: 845 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 1,376
• Violent crime rate: 411 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 6.0%
• Unemployment rate: 3.3%

11. Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Car theft rate: 808 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 3,259
• Violent crime rate: 1,065 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 19.5%
• Unemployment rate: 6.8%

12. Chattanooga, Tennessee

• Car theft rate: 789 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 1,424
• Violent crime rate: 1,048 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 16.7%
• Unemployment rate: 4.0%

13. Salinas, California

• Car theft rate: 774 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 1,227
• Violent crime rate: 619 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 13.6%
• Unemployment rate: 4.6%

14. Des Moines, Iowa

• Car theft rate: 772 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 243
• Violent crime rate: 353 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 14.6%
• Unemployment rate: 4.4%

15. Cleveland, Ohio

• Car theft rate: 772 per 100k
• Total number of car thefts: 2,970
• Violent crime rate: 1,450 per 100k
• Poverty rate: 33.1%
• Unemployment rate: 12.5%

You can read the full report here.