Clutch that phone in the 954?
Credit: Daniil Velychko / Unsplash
Fort Lauderdale has beaches, boats, billion-dollar developments and now a rather dubious national distinction... America's phone theft capital?
A new analysis by IT Asset Management Group, an electronics recycling and IT asset disposition company, puts Fort Lauderdale atop the country's rankings for reported phone and handheld-device thefts.
As reported by the likes of Fox Baltimore, the company analyzed FBI crime data from 2025 and found 918 reported thefts in Fort Lauderdale, equivalent to 480.1 per 100,000 residents. That's roughly 3.5 times the national average of 137 per 100,000.
Baltimore ranked second with 471.2 thefts per 100,000 residents, followed by Atlanta (447.4), Wichita, Kansas (414.7), and Little Rock, Arkansas (389.6). Baltimore actually recorded 2,652 incidents, nearly triple Fort Lauderdale's total, but its larger population pushed it into second place.
Before declaring Fort Lauderdale a lawless land of disappearing iPhones, however, there are some important caveats. For starters, the analysis includes smartphones, tablets, e-readers and other handheld devices. It also counts devices stolen during burglaries, robberies, shoplifting incidents and vehicle thefts. So, we're not exclusively talking about phones snatched from unsuspecting pedestrians.
The study also examined only cities with at least 100,000 residents, a full year of police-reported data, at least 50 qualifying thefts and consistent reporting practices. That means this isn't a comprehensive ranking of every American municipality.
Another consideration? Fort Lauderdale's substantial visitor population. Tourists and commuters can be victims of theft, but the per-capita calculation uses the city's resident population. That can complicate comparisons with cities attracting fewer visitors.
And importantly, this is a snapshot of 2025, not evidence that phone thefts are currently rising.
