SALT LAKE CITY — A new report is showing that while many Utahns are deciding to pedal their way around the Beehive State is seeing a rise in bike thefts. The report was released by the cycling app JOIN and was based on crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Nationally, the study reports, 44 bicycles are stolen or vandalized per 100,000 people in America. However, when you look at the statistics for Utah, the number is much higher at 84 stolen or vandalized bikes per 100,000 people.
While that isn't the highest rate of theft across the nation, it is enough for Utah to be ranked 8th worst for bike thefts and vandalism. Washington D.C. was found to be the worst area for rates of bike thefts and vandalism at 246 per 100,000 in 2023. That is 92% higher than the state with the second-highest rates, Oregon.
Oregon suffered at a rate of 128 in 2023. Colorado, Vermont, and Montana rounded out the top 5 areas with the highest rates.
In Utah, a total of 2,959 bikes were reported stolen or vandalized in 2023. The monetary value of the bikes totaled $4,855,548, with an average cost of $1,640.94 per bike.
The study's authors focused on examining the rate of bike thefts to reveal the areas of the U.S. where people were most likely to experience the crimes. However, when looking at areas where the most number of crimes occur show a different list of states and territories.
When looking at just the number of thefts and vandalism, California tops the list with 21,339 bike thefts reported in 2023. Texas, Colorado, and Florida round out the top 4.
