Car thefts dropped in 2025, but let’s not pretend the problem disappeared.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 659,880 vehicles were stolen in the United States last year. That’s a staggering number.
To put it into perspective, a vehicle was stolen roughly every 48 seconds.
The good news? That figure represents a 23% decline compared to 2024.
The Most Stolen Car In America
The biggest target for thieves in 2025 was the Hyundai Elantra. A total of 21,732 Elantras were reported stolen last year.
That likely won’t shock anyone who followed the “Kia Boyz” theft trend that exploded across social media in recent years.
America’s 10 Most Stolen Vehicles
Here’s the full top 10 list:
Hyundai Elantra — 21,732 thefts
Honda Accord — 17,797 thefts
Hyundai Sonata — 17,687 thefts
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 — 16,764 thefts
Honda Civic — 12,725 thefts
Kia Optima — 11,521 thefts
Ford F-150 — 10,102 thefts
Toyota Camry — 9,833 thefts
Honda CR-V — 9,809 thefts
Nissan Altima — 8,445 thefts
Hyundai And Kia Thefts Are Falling
There’s at least some progress here.
Hyundai and Kia accounted for 14% of all vehicle thefts in 2025. That’s still high, but significantly better than 23% in 2023.
Software updates, anti-theft fixes, and increased public awareness appear to be helping.
California Leads The Nation
California reported the highest number of vehicle thefts:
136,988 stolen vehicles
Nearly 54,000 of those thefts happened in the Los Angeles metro area alone.
Other high-theft states included:
Texas — 75,269
Illinois — 28,327
Florida — 27,142
New York — 24,206
Why Trucks Keep Showing Up
Vehicles like the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 remain popular theft targets because there are simply so many of them on the road.
High sales volume often translates to high theft numbers.
Want A Surprisingly Good Anti-Theft Device?
A manual transmission.
Seriously!
A growing number of thieves can’t drive stick, which has accidentally turned older manual cars into an unexpected security system.