Surprising US State which is home to the most car thefts in the country

28 January 2024 , 08:00

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It pays to make sure your car's alarm is always working to deter would-be thieves (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Wherever you live in the modern world, if you have a car then there is always the chance that it could be stolen, however slight that may be.

But if you're based in the US then recent researched revealed which of its 50 states has the highest rate of car thefts, with one mountainous region coming out top. The study by Simmrin Law Group analysed data from the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, which showed the amount of motor vehicle thefts in each state during 2022 and how many there were for every 100,000 people.

It found that statistically speaking, the western state of Colorado has the most car thefts. In 2022, FBI data showed that there were 45,883 counts of motor vehicle theft within the otherwise peaceful state. While when accounting for its population of just under six million, there were 786 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people - the highest of any state.

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Colorado is famous for its stunning Rocky Mountains (Getty Images/AWL Images RM)

The second place on the list went to the Pacific Northwest state of Washington. The data showed 49,777 motor vehicle thefts during 2022, with 639 thefts for every 100,000 people based on its population. Washington’s neighbor, Oregon, took third place on the list and despite having around half the total number of car thefts compared to the top two, there were 552 thefts per 100,000 people.

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‌Following closely in fourth place was the Southwestern state of New Mexico. In 2022, there were 11,448 car thefts in the state, which, accounting for population, resulted in 542 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people. Rounding off the top five was the state of Nevada. In 2022, there were 15,588 car thefts there and this came to 491 thefts per 100,000 people. Other states inside the top 10 included Missouri, California, Hawaii, Tennessee and Texas.

Comparatively, at the other end of the list New Hampshire had the lowest number of car thefts per 100,000 people with just 67 and a total of 928 thefts in 2022. While across the US overall, there were 942,173 such thefts during that year, averaging out at around 283 per 100,000 people.

Michael Simmrin of Simmrin Law Group commented: “While you expect the states with larger populations to have comparatively more car thefts overall, it’s when you start accounting for that population that you see some concerning statistics. For example, Colorado’s number of thefts per 100,000 people sits at an alarming nearly four times the national average. FBI data also shows that 2.52% of its total arrests in 2022 were from motor thefts, the highest percentage of any state for the crime.”

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Steven White