The 10 Most Stolen Cars in the U.S.

In 2025, vehicle thefts in the U.S. were the lowest they’ve been in decades: According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), there were 659,880 reported car thefts last year, down 23% from 2024. 

But car thefts do still happen, and certain makes and models are more popular targets than others. Here are the 10 most stolen cars in the country from the NICB’s analysis.

The Rankings

As per the NICB’s findings, these were the 10 most stolen vehicles in the U.S. in 2025:

This marks the second year in a row that the Hyundai Elantra took the top spot, though there were nearly 10,000 fewer  Elantras stolen in 2025 versus the previous year, and nearly 27,000 fewer than were stolen in 2023 — an encouraging trend.

You may be wondering why an affordable car like the Hyundai Elantra is such an attractive target. After all, it’s not a luxury vehicle worth an incredible amount of money. But older Elantras lack an immobilizer — a key security feature that prevents the engine from starting without a key present. This makes it easier for thieves to hot-wire a Hyundai Elantra and take it. Newer Hyundais, however, have immobilizers, so expect total thefts of that make and model to continue to decline.

The Honda Accord rose from fourth-most thefts in 2024 to second-most in 2025. However, the total number dropped from 18,539 to 17,797. Another Hyundai model — the Sonata — dropped from the second spot in 2024 (when 26,720 were stolen) to the third-most stolen vehicle in 2025. The Chevy Silverado fell from the third spot in 2024 (21,666 stolen) to fourth in 2025, while the Kia Optima fell out of the top five (17,493 stolen in 2024) and was replaced by the Honda Civic.

The States Where the Most Cars Were Stolen

The NICB studied not only the makes and models of cars that were stolen, but also the states and metropolitan areas in which thefts most often occurred. California had the highest number of total thefts of any state with 136,988, followed by 75,269 in Texas and 28,327 in Illinois. 

When it came to metropolitan regions, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region experienced the highest total number of car thefts in 2025, with 53,911. It was followed by the 27,138 thefts in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, and 24,299 in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area of Illinois.

Some states, however, have seen huge drops in the percentage of total car thefts. Washington state topped the list with a 39% decrease year over year, followed by Colorado at 35%, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico at 34%, South Dakota at 32%, and both Tennessee and New Mexico tied at 31%.

How To Avoid Car Thefts

The NICB makes several recommendations to reduce the likelihood of your car being stolen. 

The first is to always park in well-lit areas if possible, as thieves are less likely to steal cars in places where they could be noticed. Also, always roll up your windows so that potential thieves can’t get inside as easily. 

Some other commonsense suggestions include locking your doors at all times, taking your keys with you whenever you get out of the car, and never leaving the car running while it’s unattended. (You might be tempted to leave the car on and hop out for just 30 seconds to drop off some mail at the post office, but all it takes is five seconds for a thief to get into the driver’s seat and speed off.) You could also purchase anti-theft devices such as steering wheel locks or a GPS tracker like Apple AirTags, which will make it easier to track and hopefully recover your vehicle if it ever does get stolen.

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