Car thieves are giving Colorado a break for a second straight year.
Auto theft was down 25% last year, according to Colorado State Patrol. This follows a 21% drop in 2023, but only after the worst year in state history – more than 41,000 cars reported stolen in 2022.
That earned Colorado its dubious title of “worst in the nation” for auto theft, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau. By 2024 the state was fourth worst, behind Washington D.C., California and New Mexico.
Colorado auto theft
- 2024… 24,575 vehicles (down 25%)
- 2023… 32,976 vehicles (down 21%)
- 2022… 41,656 vehicles (record high)
Troopers applaud the improvement but warn that cars today are still disappearing more often than before the pandemic. From 2019 to 2023 the state suffered a nearly 100% increase in auto theft.
This alarming spike led to several new laws, like mandatory felony charges for auto thieves. Most first-time offenders in Colorado are guaranteed at least one year in jail.
“This means that a lot of the great things – that your local law enforcement, local government, the state government, and every vehicle owner in Colorado are doing – are working,” state patrol says in its 2024 report. “Auto theft continues to fall dramatically. This does not mean you can take a break or relax your vehicle security habits.”
Common sense is the best anti-theft device, troopers say. Lock your car, do not leave valuables in sight and never store an extra set of keys inside.
Colorado’s shrinking rates mirror the rest of the nation, where theft is down 17%, the most dramatic decline in four decades.
Kias, Hyundais and Chevys still hot
Chevy Silverado was the most-stolen vehicle in Colorado last year (1071 thefts), followed by Hyundai Elantra (969 thefts).
Add Kia to the mix and those three makes account for more than one in five stolen vehicles.
But even this is improving. Hyundai and Kia offered a free anti-theft software update for certain models in February 2023 that “appear to support the downward trajectory of Hyundai and Kia thefts statewide,” state patrol says.