After four years of surging vehicle thefts, the number of stolen vehicles in the United States fell to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Thefts nationwide decreased 17% from 2023 to 2024, dropping below the one million mark for the first time since 2021 and marking the largest annual decrease in stolen vehicles in the last 40 years, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the nation’s leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to identifying, investigating, preventing, and deterring insurance fraud and crime.   

“The overall decrease in stolen vehicles nationwide is a testament to the hard work and collaboration between law enforcement, multi-jurisdictional auto theft task forces, governing bodies, vehicle manufacturers, and NICB,” said David J. Glawe, president and CEO of NICB.

Last year, 850,708 vehicles were stolen nationwide, marking a significant decline from the recent historic peak of 1,020,729 thefts in 2023.

The Hyundai Elantra and Sonata were the top two most-stolen models, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Honda Accord and the Kia Optima rounding out the top five.

Washington, Nevada, and Oregon led the nation with the largest decreases in vehicle thefts year over year.  

Maine experienced the nation’s only increase in vehicle thefts in 2024, increasing 2% over the year prior.

The District of Columbia, despite an 18% decrease in total vehicle thefts, still experienced the nation’s highest theft rate with 842.4 thefts per 100,000 residents – over three times the national average of 250.2 thefts per 100,000 residents. Colorado, on the other hand, broke a four-year trend of being the state with the highest vehicle theft rate.