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California Reigns as State with Highest Car Thefts

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NICB 2015 Hot Spot Report

NICB’s report shows that California has the highest number of car thefts in the United States

If you’ve got a car and you happen to live in California, we’ve got some bad news for you—your state has the highest number of car theft hot spots in the United States.

A recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) revealed that almost all of the United States’ car theft hot spots are in California—and Modesto is the worst of them all.


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According to the report, the Modesto, California area had the highest amount of car thefts per capita. In 2015, this area had 756 thefts per 100,000 residents. It was followed by Albuquerque, New Mexico, which had a rating of 733 thefts per 100,000 residents—and is one of only two hot spots that aren’t in Cali.

The top ten car theft hot spots are as follows:

  • Modesto, California (756 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Albequerque, New Mexico (733 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Bakersfield, California (680 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Salinas, California (676 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California (656 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Stockton-Lodi, California (641 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Pueblo, Colorado (600 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Merced, California (597 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California (556 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Vallejo-Fairfield, California (539 thefts per 100,000 residents)


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To determine the various car theft hot spots, the NICB looked at the number of reported car thefts in each area, comparing these to the number of residents in the area. Along with looking at the cities with the highest car theft, the NICB also ranked those with the lowest. Here are the five cities with the least amount of car theft per capita:

  • Altoona, Pennsylvania (30 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Glens Falls, New York (30.73 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Watertown-Fort Drum, New York (32 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Kingston, New York (32.75 thefts per 100,000 residents)
  • Harrisonburg, Virginia (32.79 thefts per 100,000 residents)

Obviously, if you want to keep your car safe, you should probably hang out closer to the East Coast.

To get a better idea of NICB’s car theft hot spot report, check out the organization’s video below.

VIDEO: NICB Looks at the Cities with the Most Car Theft in the US

News Source: AutoGuide.com