Market Watch recently did a study using data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) that showed some interesting facts about California and how many cars are stolen there.
Another study found that California had the most car thefts in the country last year. In 2023, nearly 210,000 cars were stolen in California, more than twice as many as in Texas, which was second in the country in terms of car thefts.
Although the number of car thefts rose faster than in any other major U.S. metro area, the study’s definition of the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) as a whole was not the California metro area with the most car thefts.
The study found that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area had the most thefts in 2023, with over 30,000 more than the Bay Area, which came in second. The study found that 72,460 cars were stolen in the LA metro area last year.
Though the LA metro area had the most car thefts last year, it is also the only big metro area where car theft rates are going down, by 0.5% in 2023. The study says that there were 28% more car thefts in the SF area.
Third place goes to the Chicago metro area, and fourth and fifth place go to Houston and Dallas, both of which are big cities. The study found that from 2022 to 2023, the number of car thefts rose by 52% in the Washington, D.C., Arlington, Alexandria, VA, MD, and WV area.
The NICB says that Hyundai Elantras will be the most stolen car type in 2023. Hyundai Sonatas are in a close second place. In third, fourth, and fifth place are the Kia Optimas, Chevrolet Silverado 1500s, and Kia Souls.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says that more than a million cars were stolen in 2023. This is an increase of almost 300,000 cars taken each year since 2019.