Vehicle thefts in the US have now fallen for two and a half consecutive years, and the latest data suggest the decline isn't slowing down.
A new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) found that 268,415 vehicles were stolen in the first half of 2026, a 21% drop from the same period in 2025. Every state recorded a year-over-year decrease, extending a trend that began in 2024 when thefts fell 17% from the peak of more than one million vehicles stolen in 2023. Full-year 2025 data from NICB showed a further 23% decline to 659,880 thefts, described at the time as the lowest level in several decades.
For auto and commercial fleet underwriters, the consecutive declines represent a sustained shift in claims frequency on comprehensive coverage, the line most directly exposed to vehicle theft.
The national headline masks meaningful variation by market. California recorded 57,821 thefts in the first half of 2026, the highest volume of any state, and the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area led all US markets with 21,540 stolen vehicles. Washington, D.C. recorded the sharpest percentage decline of any jurisdiction, down 52%, yet still carried the highest theft rate in the country at 181.94 thefts per 100,000 people - more than double the national rate of 77.81.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin was the only major metro to move in the opposite direction, with thefts rising 2% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. That makes it an outlier worth tracking for brokers with commercial fleet or dealer accounts in the Midwest.
NICB chief operating officer Tim Slater credited sustained collaboration among law enforcement, insurers, and auto theft prevention authorities for the results, while cautioning that the underlying risk hasn't been eliminated. "With more than a quarter-million vehicles stolen in just six months, continued investment in these partnerships, as well as prevention and public awareness, is paramount to sustaining positive progress," Slater said.
The bureau has previously noted that organized crime groups are shifting away from traditional vehicle theft toward other vehicle-related fraud schemes, meaning the volume of theft claims may fall even as other vehicle-related fraud schemes rise, according to NICB.
The NICB analysis covered vehicle thefts reported to law enforcement across all 50 states and the District of Columbia during January through June 2026.
