Vehicle thefts across the United States plummeted to their lowest levels in decades last year, with a 23% drop from 2024 bringing the total number of stolen vehicles to 659,880 — a historic milestone that signals the end of a pandemic-era surge in car crime, according to new data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
The decline builds on an already striking 17% reduction in 2024, which had itself been the largest single-year decrease in four decades. Together, the two consecutive years of falling theft numbers represent a sweeping shift in a crime that had ballooned during and after the pandemic.
Still, the numbers tell a sobering story alongside the good news. One vehicle is stolen every 48 seconds in America. In many urban centers, the threat remains acute.
“Coordinated prevention efforts by law enforcement, auto manufacturers, insurance companies, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau are having a major impact on vehicle thefts nationwide,” said David J. Glawe, the bureau’s president and chief executive. “But with several hundreds of thousands of vehicles stolen in a single year, vigilance and prevention efforts remain key.”
A Patchwork of Progress
The improvements were not uniform. Washington State led all states with a 39% decline, followed by Colorado at 35% and Puerto Rico at 34%. Tennessee, New Mexico, Florida, Georgia and Arizona also posted significant drops.
Yet even as the national picture brightened, vehicle theft remained heavily concentrated in large metropolitan areas. More than one-third of all thefts last year occurred in the ten most affected metro areas. Los Angeles led that grim list with 53,911 vehicles stolen, followed by the New York metro area with 27,138 and Chicago with 24,299.
California alone accounted for more than 20% of all vehicle thefts nationally, reporting 136,988 stolen vehicles in 2025. Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York rounded out the top five states by volume.
The Hyundai Problem — and Its Partial Solution
For the third consecutive year, the Hyundai Elantra ranked as the most stolen vehicle in the country, with 21,732 thefts reported. The Honda Accord came in second with 17,797, followed by the Hyundai Sonata, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the Honda Civic.
Hyundai and Kia vehicles, which became targets of a viral theft trend in recent years, continued their downward trajectory. The two manufacturers together accounted for 14% of all vehicle thefts last year, down from 16% in 2024 and 21% in 2023 — a decline that officials attributed to software updates and anti-theft measures the companies rolled out in response to the crisis.
Most Stolen Vehicles in 2025
| # | Make/Model | 2025 Theft Totals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyundai Elantra | 21,732 |
| 2 | Honda Accord | 17,797 |
| 3 | Hyundai Sonata | 17,687 |
| 4 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 16,764 |
| 5 | Honda Civic | 12,725 |
| 6 | Kia Optima | 11,521 |
| 7 | Ford F150 | 10,102 |
| 8 | Toyota Camry | 9,833 |
| 9 | Honda CR-V | 9,809 |
| 10 | Nissan Altima | 8,445 |
What Owners Can Do
The bureau urged vehicle owners to take basic precautions: parking in well-lit areas, never leaving a car running unattended, always taking keys when exiting and considering anti-theft devices such as steering wheel locks, audible alarms or GPS tracking tags.
Vehicle theft, the bureau noted, remains a crime of opportunity — and no community is entirely immune.
| # | CBSA (Metropolitan Areas) | 2025 Total Thefts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 53,911 |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 27,138 |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 24,299 |
| 4 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 23,659 |
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 22,197 |
| 6 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 21,638 |
| 7 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 19,117 |
| 8 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 15,204 |
| 9 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 14,111 |
| 10 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 12,684 |
Top 10 States by Total Vehicle Thefts
| # | State | 2025 Total Thefts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 136,988 |
| 2 | Texas | 75,269 |
| 3 | Illinois | 28,327 |
| 4 | Florida | 27,142 |
| 5 | New York | 24,206 |
| 6 | Ohio | 20,628 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 20,568 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 20,395 |
| 9 | Washington | 18,039 |
| 10 | Missouri | 17,496 |