Catalytic Converter Thefts Decline As Laws Tighten, Scrap Metal Prices Weaken

After growing at an extraordinary pace the previous three years, thefts of catalytic converters nationwide saw a steep decline in 2023, according to a new analysis by Bumper, the vehicle history and online automotive marketplace. Thefts of this common car part appear on track to drop by more than 50% year-on-year.

Catalytic converters, required on all US cars since 1975, help clean car exhaust. In recent years, the part also became a hot commodity for thieves in search of the precious metals present in converters.

Police departments and car insurance companies nationwide reported a record surge of criminals stealing the part since 2020. However, looking at the first 10 months of this year, it appears that catalytic converter thefts—which broke new records nationwide in 2022—are seeing significant declines in every US state.

Bumper data shows that nationwide, there were 33,457 catalytic converter thefts from January through October of this year, compared to 85,430 recorded all last year.

Still, the current theft rate is 10 times higher than in 2019, when 3,389 insured thefts were reported during the year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). And while all states appear to have declines, nearly 190 countries—mostly in rural areas—saw increases this year.

Most states passed laws aimed at catalytic converter thefts

What accounts for the decline? Greater law enforcement and tighter state regulations may be one of the reasons why. An analysis by Bumper shows that 43 states have enacted legislation related to catalytic converter thefts in recent years, mostly aimed at curtailing the scrap metal trade of ill-gotten parts.

Click on the map above to see which states have enacted new laws documenting sales or increased penalties for scrap yard buyers and thieves who traffic stolen catalytic converters. Data was current as of Dec. 6, 2023.

In general, these state laws fall into three broad categories:

1. Increasing documentation requirements for buyers and sellers of catalytic converters, such as documenting/photographing drivers license, photos or videos of sellers, proof of ownership and other regulations.
2. Stiffening civil or criminal penalties for buyers of stolen catalytic converters.
3. Strengthening civil or criminal penalties for sellers of stolen catalytic converters.

Skyrocketing price of scrap catalytic converter metals fall to earth

Market forces may also be lending a hand in the decline. Rhodium, one of the metals harvested from stolen catalytic converters, was valued at around $6,000 an ounce at the start of 2020. By March 2021, the metal hit a trading day high approaching $30,000 an ounce before the price began its long decline.

The price drop may have thieves rethinking the risk versus the reward of the crime—as of early December, an ounce of rhodium was trading in the $4,000 range.

Why do people steal catalytic converters?

A catalytic converter can be stolen in minutes and resold to recyclers. Scrap prices for converters averaged about $75 each in early December, according to Rockaway Recycling. Depending on the type, a converter can fetch more than $600 each.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, car owners’ cost to replace a catalytic converter is between $1,000 and $3,000.

See how catalytic converter thefts grew over time

In the map below, watch how the rate of catalytic converter thefts grew month by month and state by state from January 2019 through October 2023. You can see by the highlighted state how the crime progressed across the country over time.

Press on the play button below and watch theft how hotspots grew over the past five years. Click on each state to see area catalytic converter theft trends since 2019.

Key takeaways:

• Catalytic converter thefts declined substantially this year. We estimate there were 33,457 thefts in the first 10 months of the year, down 60.84% so far nationwide compared to last year.
• Thefts nationwide are nearly 900% higher than 2019. While the decline is good news, catalytic converter thefts are still far more common than five years ago; thefts were up 887.22% in the first 10 months of this year compared to all of 2019 .

2023 hotspots for catalytic converters

California and New York are the top states for thefts so far this year. In terms of total number of estimated thefts, California is by far the highest, with 9,021 stolen catalytic converters, followed by New York (2,817), Texas (2,697), Illinois (1,878) and New Jersey (1,832).

Top 10 states for catalytic converter thefts per 100k automobiles

New York, the District of Columbia and New Jersey top the list when measured by registered vehicles. In the first 10 months of this year, New York had 90.53 catalytic converter thefts per 100,000 registered vehicles in the state, followed by the District of Columbia (77.83), New Jersey (72.27), Delaware (66.83) and California (63.22).

Top 10 states seeing declines in catalytic converter theft

Oregon, Washington and Texas have charted the largest annual decrease in thefts so far this year. Oregon saw the largest decrease in thefts through October, with a 81.53% decline, followed by Washington (-80.64%), Texas (-76.62%), Oklahoma (-75.87%) and Hawaii (-75.57%). But every state has charted a significant decline, the smallest being New Jersey (-38.92%).

Top 10 states seeing increases in catalytic converter theft since 2019

Since 2019, New York has charted the highest percentage increase in catalytic converter thefts. So far in 2023, thefts in New York were up 5768.75% compared to all 2019 thefts, followed by New Jersey (4063.64%), Colorado (3511.54%), Florida (2910.20%) and Massachusetts (2445.83%).

Top airports hit by catalytic converter thefts in 2023

Airports in Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix were top hotspots for thefts this year. During the increased spate of catalytic converter thefts, airport parking areas became an attractive target for thieves.

The top airports hit so far this year were Los Angeles International Airport, followed by John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York; Philadelphia International Airport; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; and Kansas City International Airport.

Top universities targeted by catalytic converter thieves in 2023

University campuses in Maryland, New York and Michigan attracted the most catalytic converter thefts in 2023. Like airports, university campuses also became popular targets for these car part thieves.

The University of Maryland in College Park was the most hit in the first 10 months of the year, followed by Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, and Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, and the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Catalytic converter thefts by county

While states are seeing declines, some rural counties have clocked increases in 2023.

Catalytic converter thefts are declining in the vast majority of US counties, yet thefts are up in more rural counties. We found that 189 counties—mostly with small populations—saw increases this year, led by Louisa County, Iowa, with a 430.00% increase, followed by Lincoln County, Nevada (420.00%), Dooly County, Georgia (300.00%), Sherman County, Kansas (280.00%) and Faribault County, Minnesota (233.33%).

Catalytic converter thefts by state

Tips to prevent catalytic converter theft

Another potential reason for the decline is that car owners have become more aware of theft prevention tools.

Suggestions from experts to try to protect your catalytic converter include: :

• Consider installing a catalytic converter anti-theft device in your vehicle, such as a cable cage or clamp.
• When possible, park your car in a locked garage.
• If you don’t have a garage, park your car in a well-lit area or install motion-activated lights and security cameras.
• Make your car alarm more sensitive and consider motion alarms under your vehicle.
• In public parking garages and lots, park near the front of the building entrance or other areas with high pedestrian traffic.
• Look up your VIN and have it engraved into your catalytic converter.

Methodology

For this study, Bumper analyzed 2019 and 2020 insured catalytic converter theft data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and, January 2019 through October 2023 search data from Google to make its findings. As the graphic above shows, we found that search traffic on the term “catalytic converter theft” reliably follows a pattern: For every 10 searches, there is, on average, one reported catalytic converter theft [(r(22)=.98, p < .01)]. Theft numbers for insured thefts are likely much lower than the total number of thefts.

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