The States With the Highest—And Lowest—Car Theft Rates

There are several factors that could determine how likely it is for your car to be stolen. You might have a car that's easy for criminals to steal or it could be as simple as it being parked on the street overnight. Maybe you have expensive electronics or personal valuables that are easy to grab for thieves.

The states where you drive your car could also factor in, with some locations more desirable than others for thieves. From 2024 to 2025, Alaska was the only state to see an increase in car thefts, while the 49 other states saw a decrease. It matched a trend seen nationally with a 22% decline in thefts from year to year.

But some states fared better than others, so maybe it's time for you to watch out for your car if you live in these places, based on data from Finance Buzz.

Highest Car Theft

1. California
2. Nevada
3. New Mexico
4. Missouri
5. Colorado

California is known for its driving culture, including its traffic. But when you're not driving your car, you need to make sure you're keeping tabs on it. The car theft rate in the state is 348 thefts per 100,000 people, making it the state where you're most likely to have your car stolen. Five of the top 10 cities for thefts are in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Vallejo, and San Jose.

Second-place Nevada has 318.3 thefts per 100,000 people. You might be especially gambling with your car in Las Vegas, which has the 12th-highest car theft rate for a city in the United States.

Third-place New Mexico has the same theft rate as Nevada at 318.3, but ends up third on the list due to fewer actual vehicles being stolen. Nevada had 10,357 stolen vehicles compared to New Mexico at 6,769 stolen vehicles.

But all states were overshadowed by the number of vehicles stolen in California where more than 136,000 vehicles were taken by thieves. The higher population of the state reduces the number of cars stolen by residents.

Lowest Car Theft

1. New Hampshire
2. Idaho
3. Maine
4. Wyoming
5. West Virginia

On the positive side, some states on the East Coast give your car a better chance.

New Hampshire tops the list of safest states for a vehicle with only 40.3 thefts per 100,000 residents. That equates to only 567 cars stolen in the state in 2025.

Second-place Idaho has a theft rate of 53.9 vehicles stolen per 100,000, while third-place Maine has 60.6 vehicles per 100,000 residents.

One factor may be the cities where your car is more likely to be stolen. The West and Mountain West regions of the U.S. are home to nine of the top 14 cities where your vehicle is most likely to be stolen. Only one city along the East Coast—New Haven, Connecticut—made the top 14 cities.

Declining Theft Rates

The national number of motor thefts declined by slightly more than 22% from 2024 to 2025, and some states saw even bigger declines during that time period, according to data from Finance Buzz.

Washington state led the way with a 39% decline during that time period. And two states that see the most thefts actually saw big drops in the rate of car thefts from 2024 to 2025. Colorado, for example, came in second place for percentage decline with 35%, while New Mexico saw a 31% drop.

More State-By-State Data: