Which Portland Neighborhoods Are Hotspots for Vehicle Theft?

Every day, about 30 cars are stolen in Portland, and data from the Portland Police Bureau shows that some areas have a lot more theft than others.

In the city, 1,789 cars were stolen in the first two months of 2023. In 2022, 10,891 cars were stolen. On average, 30 cars are stolen every day in the city, according to both numbers.

Most of the car thefts in the 15 areas where the most cars have been taken so far in 2023 happened east of the Willamette River and west of Interstate 205.

But in January and February 2023, the most stolen things happened in an area on Portland’s west side. PPB’s most recent information shows that 74 cars have been stolen in the Northwest District.

The next three are all on the far east side of Portland: Hazelwood, Powellhurst-Gilbert, and Lents. Hazelwood has 71 car thefts, Powellhurst-Gilbert has 61, and Lents has 59.

Since most cars have been stolen on Portland’s east side, east of the Willamette River, police from the PPB’s East Precinct have been on special tasks to find stolen vehicles. They spend a lot of time in one place, stopping people they think are driving stolen cars.

They spent 10 hours on March 19 in the Roseway and Madison South neighborhoods, where 32 cars have been stolen this year.

PPB says that 88% of the cars that were taken in 2023 have been found, and 84% were found within 30 days.

Stay informed and in the loop with our recent updates – read on below!

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“PPB is working with researchers at OHSU to find stolen cars more virtually. By looking at data from traffic stops, experts have helped police find stolen vehicles in an average of 1 out of every 6 stops. Before, they only found stolen vehicles in 1 out of every 31 traffic stops they made during stolen vehicle operations tasks.

In January and February 2023, these are the Portland neighborhoods where the most cars were stolen:

Northwest – 74
Hazelwood – 71
Powellhurst-Gilbert – 61
Lents – 59
Downtown – 57
Centennial – 54
Overlook – 52
Arbor Lodge – 48
Kenton – 42
St. Johns – 42
Concordia – 40
Kerns – 39
Montavilla – 36
Lloyd – 34
Piedmont – 33

Police say the top five vehicle makes stolen in 2023 have been Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Subaru and Honda.