Contents
- Vehicle theft statistics: annual U.S. theft counts and rates
- Vehicle theft statistics by region and state
- Vehicle theft statistics by month and time of day
- Vehicle theft statistics by theft location
- Vehicle theft offender statistics
- vehicle theft: Carjacking statistics and trends
- Sources
Vehicle theft statistics: annual U.S. theft counts and rates
The FBI’s nationwide estimate for 2024 was 880,327 motor vehicle thefts, at an estimated rate of 258.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. The estimated count decreased 18.6% from 2023. At the same time, the 2024 estimate was 8.9% above the 2020 estimate and 24.3% above the 2015 estimate. These comparisons describe national estimates for different reference years; they do not represent the reported incident series in the FBI’s separate 2019–2023 special report. FBI 2024 Quick Stats
| Nationwide estimate or comparison | FBI figure |
|---|---|
| Motor vehicle thefts, 2024 | 880,327 |
| Motor vehicle theft rate, 2024 | 258.8 per 100,000 inhabitants |
| Estimated count change, 2023–2024 | Decreased 18.6% |
| Estimated count change, 2020–2024 | 8.9% above 2020 |
| Estimated count change, 2015–2024 | 24.3% above 2015 |
The FBI’s 2024 summary places the preceding year in context: estimated motor vehicle thefts exceeded 1,000,000 offenses in 2023 for the first time since 2007. The estimated rate was 321.3 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, then dropped 19.4% in 2024. Count and rate are related measures, but they are not interchangeable: one reports an estimated number of offenses and the other expresses a rate using a population denominator. FBI 2024 Summary of Reported Crimes
Motor vehicle theft represented 14.7% of estimated U.S. property crime in 2024. This is a share of estimated property-crime offenses, not a rate per person or a measure of an individual vehicle owner’s likelihood of theft. FBI 2024 Quick Stats
The FBI special report uses a different basis. It analyzes incidents submitted through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS); its incident counts are reports from participating agencies, not national estimates. NIBRS population coverage increased 79.7% from 2019 to 2023. By 2023, 14,039 agencies submitted data covering 278,449,430 people. That changing coverage is important when interpreting the special report’s counts across years: more covered agencies and people can affect the volume represented, so those counts should not be substituted for the FBI’s national estimates. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Vehicle theft statistics by region and state
The special report’s regional totals count reported NIBRS incidents over 2019–2023. The South recorded the most, with 1,141,709, while the Northeast recorded the fewest, with 203,042. These are five-year totals from the reporting system, not nationwide estimates for a single year. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
In 2023, reported incident counts were 300,361 in the South, 168,006 in the Midwest, and 81,967 in the Northeast. They give selected regional counts for that year; the figures listed here do not cover every region. Counts also differ from rates, which account for the population denominator. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
The regional rate observations show how rates can complement counts. The West’s reported incident rate was 397.5 per 100,000 people in 2022 and 390.2 per 100,000 people in 2023. The Northeast rate was 89.3 per 100,000 people in 2019. Because these points refer to different regions and periods, they do not form a full year-by-year comparison across regions. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
The report’s figures are regional, so they do not support a state ranking. They also reflect NIBRS submissions and the coverage described above, rather than a fixed set of agencies representing every state in identical fashion throughout the period. Reading the regional totals as reported system counts keeps the scope clear. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Vehicle theft statistics by month and time of day
The highest-count month changed across the five years shown. July led in 2019 with 28,882 reported incidents. December had the highest count in both 2020, at 41,163, and 2021, at 55,492. October led in 2022 with 63,964 incidents. In 2023, July was highest at 74,163, followed by August at 72,159. October was the second-highest month in 2020, with 39,622 incidents, and in 2021, with 55,320. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
| Year | Highest-count month | Incidents | Second-highest observation, where reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | July | 28,882 | — |
| 2020 | December | 41,163 | October: 39,622 |
| 2021 | December | 55,492 | October: 55,320 |
| 2022 | October | 63,964 | — |
| 2023 | July | 74,163 | August: 72,159 |
The table captures peak-month observations, not every month’s count. Its main descriptive point is that the reported peak did not fall in one consistent month throughout the period. These are reported NIBRS incident counts; they do not identify why a particular month had the highest count, and they are not a forecast for a later year. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Across 2019–2023, the 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. interval contained the most reported motor vehicle thefts, with 569,080 incidents. The 4 p.m. to 7:59 p.m. interval ranked second, with 532,565; the 12 p.m. to 3:59 p.m. band contained 449,066. These totals retain the report’s grouped time intervals and five-year period. They show counts by time band, not rates adjusted for how many vehicles were present during those hours. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Vehicle theft statistics by theft location
For 2023, the report’s 3 leading listed location categories were residence/home, with 256,733 reported incidents; highway/road/alley/street/sidewalk, with 224,946; and parking/drop lot/garage, with 181,128. These are category counts from NIBRS submissions. They do not represent estimated shares of all U.S. vehicle thefts. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
| Reported location category | Incidents, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Residence/Home | 256,733 |
| Highway/Road/Alley/Street/Sidewalk | 224,946 |
| Parking/Drop Lot/Garage | 181,128 |
Other observations give individual category counts from earlier years: residence/home thefts numbered 121,633 in 2019; parking/drop lot/garage thefts numbered 88,299 in 2020; and highway/road/alley/street/sidewalk thefts numbered 127,752 in 2021. Since each point refers to a different category or year, these values do not make a like-for-like series showing change at a single location type. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
The location categories describe how the report classifies the place of an incident. They do not supply details about the circumstances of a theft or establish that any particular setting caused an incident. Keeping the category names intact also avoids suggesting more precise location information than these figures provide. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Vehicle theft offender statistics
The FBI classifies juvenile offenders as age 17 years and younger, and adults as age 18 years and older. In 2023, the reported adult offender total was 201,176, with a rate of 72.2 per 100,000 people. The juvenile total was 46,106, with a rate of 16.6 per 100,000 people. The counts and rates use the report’s age categories and describe reported NIBRS data for that year. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
For 2019–2023, 77.7% of known offenders were male and 22.3% were female. In the report, “known” means an attribute was identified; it does not mean that the person’s identity was known. The report also records sex as unknown or unreported for 67.0% of offenders, race as unknown or unspecified for 69.5%, and age as unknown or unspecified for 17.4%. Those missing or unspecified records limit what demographic percentages can say about all offenders in the incident data. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Among offenders with demographic information during 2019–2023, 60.4% were White and 85.6% were adults. The report’s race table lists 601,642 White offenders, 362,336 Black offenders, and 17,935 American Indian or Alaskan Native offenders across the same period. The counts are reported offender records, while the percentages describe demographic information available to the report; neither is a population-adjusted rate. The 69.5% of race records that were unknown or unspecified is a substantial limitation when interpreting the listed categories. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
These figures describe offender information attached to reported incidents, including substantial unknown or unspecified fields. They are not measures of an individual’s probability of offending, and their scope remains tied to the report’s definitions, time span, and reporting coverage. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
vehicle theft: Carjacking statistics and trends
The FBI defines carjacking as a robbery offense in which the stolen property is identified as a vehicle. The classification makes carjacking figures distinct from motor vehicle theft statistics, even though both concern a vehicle being taken. Their counts and rates should therefore be read according to the separate offense categories the report uses. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
Reported NIBRS carjacking incident counts and rates increased from 2019 to 2022, then decreased between 2022 and 2023. The rate fell from 7.5 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 6.6 per 100,000 people in 2023. This is a reported carjacking rate, not the nationwide motor vehicle theft rate discussed above. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023
For 2019–2023, automobiles accounted for 89% of carjacked motor vehicles, trucks for 6.9%, and other motor vehicles for 3.2%. These are the vehicle-type shares reported for carjacking incidents. They describe the types of vehicles in that offense category and do not change the FBI’s distinction between carjacking and other motor vehicle theft offenses. FBI Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019 to 2023