Latest year
2026
Most recent year available for this crime type.
Crime type
Chicago Motor Vehicle Theft statistics and trends
Chicago reported 4,911 motor vehicle theft incidents in 2026 according to the city's published primary crime classifications. Compared with 2025, the total was down 71.5%. The category represented 7.9% of the citywide total.
Total incidents
4,911
Latest yearly total for the selected primary crime type.
Category share
7.9%
Share of the citywide annual total in the latest year.
Last updated
April 26, 2026
Latest completed import or aggregate refresh.
Context
Category context
Additional reading notes to help interpret the statistics on this page.
In 2026, the community areas with the highest counts for motor vehicle theft included West Town, Near West Side, and Austin.
The monthly series helps separate long-run category size from recent movement, which is useful when a single annual total would otherwise flatten short-run changes.
Motor Vehicle Theft also sits within a broader citywide mix that links back to the largest other categories for cross-navigation.
Yearly trend
Latest complete annual totals for this crime type.
2001
Range 8,978 to 29,256
2025
Start
2001
27,556
Peak
2023
29,256
Low
2019
8,978
Latest
2025
17,245
Recent monthly trend
Latest complete monthly totals for this crime type.
Oct 2024
Range 1,155 to 1,755
Mar 2026
Start
Oct 2024
1,755
Peak
Oct 2024
1,755
Low
Feb 2025
1,155
Latest
Mar 2026
1,508
Top community areas for this crime type
Community areas with the largest published counts for this category in the latest yearly table.
West Town Chicago crime rate and trends
236 incidents
Near West Side Chicago crime rate and trends
233 incidents
Austin Chicago crime rate and trends
221 incidents
South Shore Chicago crime rate and trends
208 incidents
Chatham Chicago crime rate and trends
134 incidents
Humboldt Park Chicago crime rate and trends
134 incidents
Loop Chicago crime rate and trends
119 incidents
Auburn Gresham Chicago crime rate and trends
118 incidents
Recent rows
Recent Motor Vehicle Theft incidents
Recent incident rows are capped for page speed and included for context only.
| Date | Type | Block | Neighborhood | Arrest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 17, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 071XX S LANGLEY AVE | Greater Grand Crossing | No |
| April 17, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 026XX S DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DR | Douglas | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 029XX W 36TH ST | Brighton Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 048XX W HUTCHINSON ST | Portage Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 017XX N LOREL AVE | Austin | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 038XX W MADISON ST | West Garfield Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 041XX N MENARD AVE | Portage Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 061XX S ST LAWRENCE AVE | Woodlawn | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 041XX N MARMORA AVE | Portage Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 061XX S WOODLAWN AVE | Woodlawn | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 037XX W IRVING PARK RD | Irving Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 056XX S LAWNDALE AVE | West Elsdon | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 046XX S CALIFORNIA AVE | Brighton Park | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 043XX S ELLIS AVE | Kenwood | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 022XX S SACRAMENTO AVE | South Lawndale | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 052XX W CRYSTAL ST | Austin | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 049XX S KILDARE AVE | Archer Heights | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 034XX N ELAINE PL | Lake View | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 047XX N ARTESIAN AVE | Lincoln Square | No |
| April 16, 2026 | Motor vehicle theft | 009XX W RANDOLPH ST | Near West Side | No |
Explore more
Related pages
Move between citywide, map, category, neighborhood, and year-specific routes with descriptive internal links.
Chicago crime rate and citywide statistics
All Chicago crime types and category pages
All Chicago community area crime pages
Chicago crime map and recent incidents
Chicago crime trends by year and month
Chicago crime statistics for 2026
Chicago crime statistics for 2025
Chicago crime statistics for 2024
Chicago crime statistics for 2023
West Town Chicago crime rate and trends
Near West Side Chicago crime rate and trends
Austin Chicago crime rate and trends
South Shore Chicago crime rate and trends
Important context
Methodology and caveats
These pages summarize reported public records. Use source notes and methodology before drawing comparisons.
Reported crime data can lag the real world and may exclude the most recent days.
Case classifications can change after additional investigation or administrative review.
Map coordinates are approximate because the source data is redacted to the block level.
Counts on this site summarize reported incidents and should not be treated as a complete measure of safety.
Read the methodology page for pipeline details and the about page for source notes.
Sources
Official data sources
CrimeAtlas is built from public datasets published by city agencies. Each page links back to the underlying source and the latest import timestamp.
socrata dataset
Chicago community areas
Publisher: City of Chicago
Dataset ID: igwz-8jzy
Refresh cadence: Updated as needed
Last imported: April 13, 2026
socrata dataset
Chicago crime incidents
Publisher: Chicago Police Department
Dataset ID: ijzp-q8t2
Refresh cadence: Daily
Last imported: April 26, 2026
socrata file
Chicago neighborhood boundaries reference
Publisher: City of Chicago
Dataset ID: 9wp7-iasj
Refresh cadence: Legacy file dataset
Last imported: Not available
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about data coverage, definitions, and how to read these pages.
How is motor vehicle theft defined here?
This page follows the source dataset’s primary crime type field and does not reclassify incidents into a custom taxonomy for the route-level page.
Can categories change after publication?
Yes. Source agencies may update the classification attached to a case, which is why the importer performs idempotent upserts.