10 Cities With the Most Car Thefts

California residents, I have a bit of bad news for you -- seven of the 10 US cities with the highest car theft rate are all located in the Golden State, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) latest Hot Spots report.

At the top of the list is the San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward metropolitan area, which reported 29,093 car thefts in 2014. In second place is Bakersfield, CA, with 5,211 thefts, and in third is the Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area with 4,245 car thefts last year. Also on the top 10 list are Odessa, Texas and the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, Washington area. Below is the full list.

The Hot Spots report is a population-based survey, which means an area with a smaller population but a decent amount of car thefts could result it in having a higher theft rate and ranking higher on the list than an area with more thefts.

According to the NICB, vehicle thefts are down, however, the reasons for thefts remain the same including older vehicles being stolen for their parts and other taken for "joyrides." To protect your vehicle, the NICB recommends four layers of protection, including using common sense, administering warning devices, using an immobilizing device, and installing a tracking device.