Grand Theft Auto

The city where your car is most likely to be stolen is in California. In fact, the top three cities are in California, and of the top 10, six are in that state. So says a report by Forbes that compares the number of stolen cars per 100,000 population.

Using that ratio, Fresno, California, with 808 stolen cars per 100,000 people and a total of 7,621 stolen cars in 2011, ranks number one in the nation. In second place is Modesto; third is occupied by Bakersfield.

For fourth and fifth, we have to travel north to Spokane and Yakima Washington. The remaining cities are all in the Golden State except for Anderson, S.C. at number eight. With a population of about 27,000, Anderson (nickname: The Friendliest City in South Carolina) had 911 cars stolen in 2011, giving it a score of 483.32.

See the full list of cities below.

2011 thefts and rate per 100,000
  1. Fresno - 7,621 808.25
  2. Modesto - 3,315 639.32
  3. Bakersfield - 5,240 615.23
  4. Spokane, WA - 2,614 551.75
  5. Yakima, WA - 1,308 529.25
  6. San Francisco - 23,223 528.87
  7. Stockton, CA - 3,532 507.32
  8. Anderson, SC - 911 483.32
  9. Vallejo, CA - 2,002 480.71
  10. Visalia, CA - 2,125 472.78