Editor’s Note: This list has been updated to provide more complete and updated information from the latest set of agency data reported to the FBI.

MISSOURI (NEXSTAR) – Vehicle thefts rose significantly in 2022, and as people prepare for vacations and holiday travel, it’s crucial to know which areas will be more likely to be targeted. Missouri is no exception. 

Using federal statistics, we analyzed how common vehicle thefts are in the state.

Based on FBI data from 2022, which is submitted by law enforcement agencies every year, we can see how many motor vehicle theft reports were reported in a given county. Note that the agency rankings below are limited to what is submitted to the FBI and may not represent all agencies in populated areas.

Our analysis focused on Missouri’s metropolitan counties, which come from the most current list of qualifying metropolitan counties, according to the Missouri Census Data Center. Additionally, because multiple agencies may cover a particular area, data from police departments is included separately from data submitted by sheriff’s offices.

This list includes numbers provided to the FBI by each participating agency in metropolitan counties across the state. It has been ordered from highest to lowest number of motor vehicle thefts in 2022, the most recent year of data available:

  1. St. Louis City Police Department – 7,294
  2. St. Louis County Police Department – 2,911
  3. Jefferson – 388
  4. Newton – 113
  5. Jasper – 125
  6. Greene – 98
  7. St. Francois – 91
  8. Boone – 90
  9. Butler – 90
  10. Jackson – 69
  11. Platte – 52
  12. Christian – 46
  13. Lincoln – 46
  14. Franklin – 45
  15. St. Charles – 45
  16. Howell – 42
  17. Johnson – 38
  18. Cape Girgardeau – 35
  19. Cole – 35
  20. Taney – 34
  21. Polk – 32
  22. Laclede – 31
  23. Phelps – 31
  24. Buchanan – 24
  25. Pulaski – 24
  26. Webster – 24
  27. Callaway – 22
  28. Warren – 22
  29. Clay – 20
  30. Andrew – 19
  31. Lafayette – 19
  32. Ray – 19
  33. Bates – 18
  34. Saline – 17
  35. Osage – 11
  36. Clinton – 10
  37. Dunklin – 10
  38. Ripley – 10
  39. Clark – 9
  40. Dallas – 9
  41. Bollinger – 7
  42. Nodaway – 6
  43. Audrain – 5
  44. DeKalb – 5
  45. Howard – 5
  46. Schuyler – 5
  47. Caldwell – 4
  48. Cass – 4
  49. Scott – 4
  50. Lewis – 4
  51. Marion – 3
  52. Pettis – 3
  53. Randolph – 3
  54. Adair – 2
  55. Cooper – 2
  56. Moniteau – 1
  57. Ralls – 1

According to the data, the Missouri metropolitan county with the most motor vehicle thefts is the St. Louis City Police Department, with 7,294 reports of thefts in 2022. Census data from 2021 shows St. Louis City had a population of 293,310 people, meaning about 25 motor vehicle thefts for every 1,000 people.

The FBI discourages using these numbers as a way of measuring law enforcement effectiveness because the figures are influenced by a number of factors, and “data may not be comparable to previous years because of differing levels of participation over time.”