If you commute in this city, your car is likely to get stolen

Commuters in Portland should be thankful they aren’t driving to work right now.

While commuting to work has been paused in most parts of the US due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new study analyzing major metropolitan areas found that car owners in the Oregon city deal with the worst auto theft rates in the country.

AutoinsuranceEZ ran the numbers and found that 487 cars are jacked per 100,000 each year in Portland, OR. The three-year study compiled data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports between 2017-2019, where it looked at cities with one million or more residents and determined which had the highest motor vehicle theft rates.

In the three-year period, 36,161 total vehicles were reported stolen in Portland despite the number of thefts dropping 14% since the start of the study. Typically, thefts in the Emerald City occurred between 6 p.m. to midnight, which spells a nightmare for commuters heading to work early in the morning.

California had a whopping four cities that ranked in the top 10 including San Francisco, the home of Silicon Valley, at No. 5 and Los Angeles at No. 10. While thefts decreased in San Francisco during the duration of the study, drivers of Hondas with models 2000 or older had their cars stolen most often, as well as personal trucks and SUVS.

In Los Angeles, a total of 149,362 vehicles were stolen from 2017 to 2019, according to the study.

San Jose ranked in second averaging 483 vehicles stolen for every 100,000 residents. One of the most targeted neighborhoods is Fremont, according to the study, which reported a total of 30 cars were broken into in just one night earlier in 2020.

The most common stolen car in America varies year to year, but Honda models that were made before 2006 were typically the most common targets, according to the survey. While newer car models tend to be more difficult to steal, the allure (and price tag) of them make them more valuable, according to the study.

More than 557,000 vehicles were stolen in the top 15 cities, according to the study.

While commuting to work has been hard to come by this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed commuters to save some money by not traveling to work. Residents in one city in California burn more than $12,000 annually, or about $49 per workday, on their commute. Also, the lack of commuting has added more time to the day — especially for New Yorkers. The average worker commutes a total of 42 minutes on way in New York, according to one survey.

1. Portland, OR
2. San Jose, CA
3. Seattle, WA
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Riverside, CA
7. Las Vegas, NV
8. Memphis, TN
9. Louisville, KY
10. Los Angeles, CA
11. Oklahoma City, OK
12. Milwaukee, WI
13. San Antonio, TX
14. New Orleans, LA
15. Tucson, AZ