If you made a list of the most popular car brand in each U.S. state, it’d be pretty repetitive.
In most states, Ford and Honda are far and away the most popular auto manufacturers, with Toyota and Chevrolet being the top pick in a few others.
We’ve already made a list of the best gas mileage cars, as well as compiled data on each state’s CO2 emissions.
But that got us thinking — which car brand is most uniquely popular in each state?
In other words, which vehicle manufacturers are, for example, Texans way more obsessed with and covetous of than other states?
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Figuring Out What The Most Popular Car Brands Are
We turned to data scientist Matthew Sisco for help.
Using consumer search data at the state level, Sisco was able to determine which car brand each state was most obsessed with relative to the national average.
In some cases, the results were what you’d expect.
For example, California is obsessed with Tesla, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since the company is based out of the state.
Same thing with Michigan and its obsession with Chrysler.
But other states are a bit more surprising.
Why are Texans so attracted to Lamborghinis?
Perhaps it’s the bravado and power of the vehicle.
What makes the Volvo so popular in New Hampshire (some models sell at nearly 600% of the national average!)?
It’s also worth pointing out that Acura and Buick tied for being the car brand that appears the most, followed by Chrysler, Infiniti, Kia, Lamborghini, Suzuki, and Volvo.
The study uncovers some very interesting and unexpected data in consumer interests.
Do you share the same auto interests as the neighbors in your state?
The Most Popular Car Brands by State
See below for the full list of the car brands each state is most obsessed with along with some additional insights for certain states:
- Alabama: Hyundai
- Alaska: Suzuki
- Arizona: Tesla
- Arkansas: GMC (the GMC Yukon sells at over 400% of the national average in Arkansas, and in general, the brand is very popular here)
- California: Tesla (headquarters of Tesla and boasts the highest number of charging stations for electric vehicles of any state)
- Colorado: Jeep (Jeep’s rugged outdoor vehicles are the perfect fit for the Rocky Mountain State)
- Connecticut: Audi
- Delaware: Mazda
- District Of Columbia: Acura
- Florida: Lamborghini (almost 14% of all cars sold in Florida are from luxury brands, well ahead of the national average)
- Georgia: Infiniti
- Hawaii: Toyota (Tacomas sell at more than 7x the national average in Hawaii)
- Idaho: Suzuki
- Illinois: Mitsubishi
- Indiana: Chrysler
- Iowa: Buick
- Kansas: Suzuki
- Kentucky: Ford
- Louisiana: Infiniti
- Maine: Volvo (the V60 Cross Country sells at about 550% of the national average in Maine)
- Maryland: Acura
- Massachusetts: Audi
- Michigan: Chrysler
- Minnesota: Buick
- Mississippi: Nissan (Nissans are especially popular in Mississippi with the Maxima, Armada, and Titan all selling at over 4x the national rate)
- Missouri: Kia
- Montana: Ram (the Ram 1500 is especially popular here, selling at nearly 4x the national average)
- Nebraska: Chevrolet (Silverado and Suburban sales are more than twice their respective U.S. averages)
- Nevada: Lamborghini
- New Hampshire: Volvo (the Volvo V60 sells at roughly 6x the U.S. average in New Hampshire)
- New Jersey: Acura
- New Mexico: Mini
- New York: Infiniti
- North Carolina: Honda
- North Dakota: GMC
- Ohio: Kia
- Oklahoma: Chevrolet (big trucks, including the Silverado, sell at over twice the national rate)
- Oregon: Buick
- Pennsylvania: Mitsubishi (the manufacturer sells its Outlander Sport exceptionally well in PA, at nearly 3x the national average)
- Rhode Island: Hyundai (the Elantra Coupe has performed very well here, selling at over 450% of the national average in some years)
- South Carolina: Kia
- South Dakota: Chrysler
- Tennessee: Nissan (with a Nissan assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, the auto manufacturer has a devoted following)
- Texas: Lamborghini
- Utah: Volkswagen (the Touareg has a history of selling at 3x the average of other states)
- Vermont: Volvo (the V60 Cross Country has sold at over 800% of the national average in some years, and other Volvo models also sell at a much higher rate here than in other states)
- Virginia: Acura
- Washington: Mazda
- West Virginia: Jeep
- Wisconsin: Buick
- Wyoming: Ram
Wrapping Up
Hopefully this was helpful in pulling back the curtain on what the most popular car brands are in your state.
If you want to learn more about vehicles and maintenance, browse our website’s Education section to learn more.
