The Real Grand Theft Auto
The U.S. has always had a bit of a car theft problem. When you think of the car thieves you see in movies or TV shows, they’re usually after high end, luxury sports cars. And while those do get stolen in real life, it doesn’t happen nearly as often as you would think. Thieves target older cars because they’re much easier to steal.
However, the pandemic saw a noteworthy spike in stolen cars. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reporting that in 2021, 10.9% more cars were stolen than the year prior. These cars are often taken to auto shops and stripped down for parts in high demand. Car theft also increases crime rates, as thieves will often use stolen cars to commit additional crimes.
Now, the police say forgotten fobs and keyless technology have contributed to soaring stolen car cases as well. That is why our list contains not only older models, but also newer models with the adoption of keyless ignitions. The technology that once made cars nearly impossible to steal has ushered in a new era of joyriding because of carelessness with key fobs.
In the interest of public safety and awareness, here is our list of the top ten most stolen cars in America. If your car was built more than 20 years ago, we recommend taking extra security precautions, like installing steering wheel locks, aftermarket alarm systems, or ignition immobilizers.
10. Dodge Pickup (Full Size)
- Number of thefts: 11,991
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 4.6
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2001 Dodge Pickup
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $15,285
If you own a Dodge pickup, you should make sure you take all the necessary precautions to keep your pickup safe. These include locking your doors and also parking in a well-lit area at night.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, in 2020, 11,991 Ram pickup trucks were stolen. The model stolen the most is the 2001 Dodge pickup.
9. Honda CR-V
- Number of thefts: 12,309
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 4.5
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2000 Honda CR-V
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $18,650
Honda should really start selling their cars, especially the CR-V, with the disclaimer "they’re really easy to steal." At least that’s what it seems like due to the fact catalytic converters from Honda's are worth roughly $1,650 on the black market.
Honda cars are also a target because they have hybrid systems. The catalytic converters of Honda cars will fetch more price when resold. Thieves who remove them with jacks and angle grinders find them relatively easy to steal.
As such, the car is favored by motorists across the country. This is why the CR-V, being the ninth-most stolen car in America in 2020, did not have the highest theft rate in any individual state.
8. Toyota Corolla
- Number of thefts: 12,515
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 2.2
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2020 Toyota Corolla
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $19,600
The Toyota Corolla is a perennially affordable and well-renowned car, making it a popular choice for drivers across the country. Its theft rate of 2.2 thefts per 1,000 cars is less than half that of the Honda CR-V, even though carjackers swiped over 200 more Corollas than CR-Vs in 2020.
In addition to its widespread popularity, the Corolla also stands out because brand new Corollas were stolen more often in 2020 than Corollas made in any prior year. This model ties for the newest among all the vehicles in the top ten most stolen cars in America.
7. GMC Pickup (Full Size)
- Number of thefts: 13,061
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 8.3
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2005 GMC Pickup
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $18,190
If you drive a GMC Full-Size Pickup, you may want to invest in an alarm for your truck. The GMC Sierra is the seventh most stolen car, and the third most stolen pickup truck. Additionally, the Sierra is often considered easier to steal than many other vehicles in a similar price range, such as from Tesla and Lexus.
In 2020, over 13,000 GMC pickups were carjacked, placing them seventh on the list of the ten most stolen cars in the country. This is an increase of 16.6% from 2019 to 2020. Thieves stole a whopping 8.3 per 1,000 GMC trucks in 2020, the second-highest theft rate among the ten most stolen vehicles overall.The most stolen GMC Sierra is the 2005.
6. Nissan Altima
- Number of thefts: 14,668
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 2.1
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2020 Nissan Altima
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $24,300
The Nissan Altima is the second vehicle among the top ten most stolen cars in America to have thieves target its newest model most often in 2020. This might come as a surprise since there’s a common belief that carjackers tend to single out older vehicles due to their outdated security technology.
However, thieves aren’t breaking into the cars to steal them the old fashioned way. Instead, they use a technique called a “relay attack.” A device is used to detect a signal from a key fob to the vehicle. One thief will get close to a house to pick up the signal sent by the key. The signal is then transmitted to a device placed close to the car. Thieves can then use various commands to the car’s computer to do things like unlock doors and remotely start the car.
Its theft rate per vehicle supports this logic: even though the Altima was the sixth-most stolen car in 2020, it had the lowest thefts per 1,000 vehicles of any car in the top ten, indicating there were simply more of them available to be stolen.
5. Toyota Camry
- Number of thefts: 16,915
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 2.4
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2019 Toyota Camry
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $24,095
Are you noticing a trend here? Best-selling vehicles tend to be the most targeted by thieves, and Toyota Camrys are no exception. Their universal parts are catnip for criminals, who strip the cars and resell the parts for a profit.
Like the Nissan Altima, however, its relatively low theft rate per 1,000 vehicles speaks more to its extreme popularity than to its particular appeal to car thieves. The vehicle ranks fifth on the list of the most stolen cars in America in 2020 with the 2019 model being the most popular.
4. Honda Accord
- Number of thefts: 30,814
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 3.7
- Model most stolen in 2020: 1997 Honda Accord
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $15,100
With over 30,000 thefts in 2020, the Honda Accord is fourth on the list of America’s top ten most stolen cars. The model saw an exceptionally high number of thefts on the East Coast.
The most common manufacture year, 1997, among Accords stolen in 2020 is also the farthest back of any car in the top ten by a full three years. The reason for the model years being the most stolen model is that the Accord didn’t get immobilizer technology until the model year after the 1997 Honda Accord. The Civic didn’t get good theft protection technology until 2001.
Criminals often work by word of mouth, and showing someone how to steal an old Accord or Civic gets passed on again and again. It’s roughly the same for stealing most cars, but most car thieves aren’t mechanics. They’re mostly opportunists, and something as common as ’90s Hondas provide plenty of opportunities.
3. Honda Civic
- Number of thefts: 34,144
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 4.7
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2000 Honda Civic
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $10,750
Despite the Honda Civic being similarly popular as the Toyota Camry, carjackers stole more than twice as many Civics as Camrys in 2020. On a per-vehicle basis, the Civic had 94% more thefts than the Camry and even 27% more thefts than the Accord.
As previously mentioned, the most common manufacture year of Civics stolen in 2020 was 2000, one of the last years before the Civic sported anti-theft technology.
Additionally, the 2000 Civic is the cheapest most-targeted model year of any vehicle on this list, priced at just over $10,000 at the time of its release.
2. Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
- Number of thefts: 40,968
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 9.5
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2004 Chevrolet Pickup
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $19,545
The Chevy Silverado is the second most stolen pickup and the second most stolen car in the United States in 2020. If you have a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, the chance that your truck will be taken is even higher, since the 2004 Silverado is the most stolen model.
Chevy trucks had the highest number of thefts per 1,000 vehicles of any car in the top ten most stolen car models. Thieves targeted nearly 1% of all Chevy pickups in 2020, a share that’s 14% higher than the GMC Sierra’s second-highest theft rate among the top ten most stolen cars.
1. Ford Pickup (full size)
- Number of thefts: 44,014
- Thefts per 1,000 vehicles: 5.9
- Model most stolen in 2020: 2006 Ford Pickup
- MSRP (base model) for most stolen model: $18,930
Ford pickup trucks were the most stolen vehicles in America in 2020, with car thieves swiping over 44,000 of them. Ford’s pickups taking the top overall spot shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, as the brand’s full-size F-Series line is the most popular car in America .
Still, F-Series models had a much higher number of thefts per 1,000 vehicles than many other of the nation’s most popular car models, including the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Nissan Altima, which all rank among the top five most popular cars in the nation. Ford pickups’ theft rate of 5.9 per 1,000 vehicles is over twice as high as any of those three models.