Motor vehicle theft, one of the most serious offenses tracked by the FBI, is on the rise in the United States. There were a total of 810,400 motor vehicle thefts nationwide in 2020, up 12% from the previous year and the most in over a decade. 

Motor vehicle theft can be either the theft or attempted theft of a vehicle, such as a car or ATV. Some experts attribute the rising rates of vehicle theft to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to vehicles sitting unattended and unused for longer stretches than usual. Here is a look at the 10 most stolen cars in America. 

The country’s rising rates of motor vehicle theft are being driven by surges in some major metropolitan areas.

Using data from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 metro areas where vehicle theft is rising fastest. Metro areas are ranked by the year-over-year change in the number of reported vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in 2020. Among the metro areas on this list, the vehicle theft rate climbed anywhere from 42 incidents per 100,000 people to 183 per 100,000 people. The national motor vehicle theft rate climbed by 25 incidents per 100,000 people in 2020. 

Vehicle theft – along with larceny and burglary – is one component of the overall property crime category. However, despite rising rates of vehicle theft, fewer than half of the metro areas on this list reported an increase in the overall property crime rate in 2020. Here is a look at the cities where property crime is soaring. 

The metro areas that reported the largest increases in vehicle thefts per capita span the country, though California alone is home to eight, more than any other state. The majority of metro areas on this list have a higher overall motor vehicle theft rate than the national rate of 246 per 100,000 people. 

Click here to see metros where the motor vehicle theft rate is soaring
Click here to see our detailed methodology