Cars and Drivers

States Where Your Car Is Most and Least Likely to Be Stolen

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Paul Ausick
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A motor vehicle was stolen in the United States every 46 seconds in 2014. As bad as that sounds, that represents a decline of 1.3% compared with 2013, 6.8% compared with 2010 and 44.2% compared with 2005.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, there were more than 260 million motor vehicles on U.S. roads in 2014. And according to FBI crime statistics, more than 611,000 were stolen. The U.S. average per 100,000 people was 216.2 vehicle thefts.

And all cars are not treated equally. In 2015 the most stolen vehicle was a 1996 Honda Accord (52,244), with the 1998 Honda Civic in second place (49,430). Why steal such old cars? Because it’s easier. Researchers from CheapCarInsurance.com explain:

According to our research, thieves favor 1990s-model cars, perhaps because engine immobilizer systems in new cars make it essentially impossible to start a car without the ignition key. These system started to become widespread in 1998. Modern cars can still be stolen, but now it takes a much higher level of technical sophistication.

Not much higher, though, at least in some cases. More than 10,000 2015 Nissan Altima’s were stolen in 2015, ranking the car eighth on the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) list of the top 10 “Hot Wheels” for the year.

A couple of other interesting data points from the NICB’s report are some other top targets for car thieves. Full-size pickups from Ford, GM and Ram account for three spots among the top ten stolen cars of 2015. The three combined for 68,379 stolen vehicles last year.

In four states, the most often stolen vehicle was a Dodge Caravan. Go figure.

Here’s a list of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia ranked from the highest to the lowest rate of stolen vehicles per 100,000 population along with the favorite vehicle of car thieves and the number of thefts in each state.

  1. Washington, D.C.: 17.5 rate; 2002 Dodge Caravan; 167 stolen
  2. Washington: 11.2 rate; 1996 Honda Accord; 3,757 stolen
  3. California: 10.8 rate; 1996 Honda Accord; 28,345 stolen
  4. Nevada: 10.3 rate; 1996 Honda Accord; 1,048 stolen
  5. Alaska: 8.9 rate; 2003 Chevy full-size pickup; 147 stolen
  6. New Mexico: 8.7 rate; 1998 Honda Civic; 572 stolen
  7. Texas: 8.4 rate; 2006 Ford full-size pickup; 7,897 stolen
  8. Utah: 8.2 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 938 stolen
  9. Oklahoma: 7.6 rate; 1994 Chevy full-size pickup; 1,143 stolen
  10. Arizona: 7.6 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 1,072 stolen
  11. Georgia: 7.5 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 1,052 stolen
  12. South Carolina: 7.4 rate; 2006 Ford full-size pickup; 586 stolen
  13. Missouri: 7.3 rate; 2004 Ford full-size pickup; 880 stolen
  14. Kansas: 7.1 rate; 1999 Chevy full-size pickup; 439 stolen
  15. Colorado: 7.0 rate; 1997 Honda Civic; 1,380 stolen
  16. Oregon: 6.8 rate; 1994 Honda Accord; 1,491 stolen
  17. Louisiana: 6.8 rate; 2006 Chevy full-size pickup; 671 stolen
  18. Maryland: 6.6 rate; 2003 Dodge Caravan; 727 stolen
  19. Hawaii: 6.6 rate; 2000 Honda Civic; 1,052 stolen
  20. Michigan: 6.1 rate; 2008 Chevy Impala; 733 stolen
  21. North Dakota: 6.0 rate; 2002 Chevy full-size pickup; 127 stolen
  22. Nebraska: 5.9 rate; 1996 Chevy full-size pickup; 196 stolen
  23. Indiana: 5.8 rate; 2005 Ford full-size pickup; 659 stolen
  24. Arkansas: 5.7 rate; 2004 Chevy full-size pickup; 402 stolen
  25. Florida: 5.6 rate; 2006 Ford full-size pickup; 2,070 stolen
  26. Tennessee: 5.5 rate; 1997 Chevy full-size pickup; 693 stolen
  27. Mississippi: 5.3 rate; 1994 Chevy full-size pickup; 286 stolen
  28. Montana: 4.7 rate; 1999 Chevy full-size pickup; 165 stolen
  29. Wisconsin: 4.5 rate; 2002 Dodge Caravan; 1,035 stolen
  30. Connecticut: 4.3 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 534 stolen
  31. Alabama: 4.0 rate; 2005 Chevy full-size pickup; 499 stolen
  32. Rhode Island: 4.0 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 101 stolen
  33. North Carolina: 3.9 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 609 stolen
  34. Minnesota: 3.9 rate; 1998 Honda Civic; 676 stolen
  35. Ohio: 3.8 rate; 2003 Dodge Caravan; 679 stolen
  36. Illinois: 3.6 rate; 2000 Dodge Caravan; 1,054
  37. Kentucky: 3.6 rate; 1998 Chevy full-size pickup; 250 stolen
  38. Massachusetts: 3.4 rate; 2000 Honda Civic; 426 stolen
  39. New Jersey: 3.4 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 844 stolen
  40. West Virginia: 3.3 rate; 2003 Ford full-size pickup; 87 stolen
  41. South Dakota: 3.1 rate; 1994 Chevy full-size pickup; 52 stolen
  42. Iowa: 3.1 rate; 2002 Chevy full-size pickup; 258 stolen
  43. New York: 3.1 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 724 stolen
  44. Delaware: 2.9 rate: 2000 Honda Civic; 53 stolen
  45. Wyoming: 2.8 rate; 2007 Chevy full-size pickup; 32 stolen
  46. Pennsylvania: 2.8 rate; 1997 Honda Accord; 544 stolen
  47. Idaho: 2.7 rate; 2004 Ford full-size pickup; 108 stolen
  48. Virginia: 2.3 rate; 2002 Honda Accord; 266 stolen
  49. Maine: 1.7 rate; 2001 Chevy full-size pickup; 29 stolen
  50. New Hampshire: 1.5 rate; 1997 Honda Civic; 34 stolen
  51. Vermont: 1.0 rate; Chevy full-size pickup; 15 stolen

Additional information is available at CheapCarInsurance.com and from the NICB website.

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