Western U.S. States Had Among Highest Car Theft Rates, Report Shows
A new report shows Colorado has the most car thefts, while populous California made the top 10 list.
The report’s authors analyzed data from the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, which showed the amount of motor vehicle thefts in each state in 2022, and how many thefts there were for every 100,000 people.
The report, commissioned by Simmrin Law Group, found that statistically Colorado sees the most car thefts with 45,883 counts of motor vehicle theft in the state. When accounting for population, there were 786 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people, which is the highest of any form.
California was seventh on the list with 184,195 motor vehicle thefts in 2022, which comes out to 472 robberies per 100,000 people.
Second place on the list was Washington. Data showed there were 49,777 motor vehicle thefts, coming out to 639 thefts for every 100,000 people when accounting for population. Oregon was third on the list with 552 robberies per 100,000 people. Following closely was New Mexico with 11,448 motor vehicle thefts, or 542 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people.
Nevada rounded out the top five with 15,588 car thefts, accounting for 91 thefts per 100,000 people.
Across the US, 942,173 motor vehicle thefts occurred in 2022, with an average of 283 per 100,000 people, the report shows.