Top 10 States With the Most Vanity Plates (Per Capita)

Where in America are drivers most likely to put a little personality on their bumper? The answer isn't California or Texas. It's Virginia, and by a wide margin.

Roughly 1 out of every 6 registered vehicles in Virginia carries a vanity plate. That's over a million personalized plates on the road, more per capita than any other state. Behind Virginia, a mix of small New England states and a couple of surprising standouts round out the top 10.

Here's the full ranking, based on percentage of registered vehicles with a personalized plate. Data attributed to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) survey, the canonical source cited across public reporting. Recent coverage confirms Virginia and New Hampshire still hold the top two spots.

#1: Virginia (16.19%)

Virginia has been the country's vanity-plate leader for decades. The driving factor, per Reddit discussions and public reporting, is affordability. While some states charge $50 to $100 a year for a personalized plate, Virginia's annual upcharge sits at around $10. Combine that low bar of entry with a strong culture of expressing yourself on the bumper, and you get more than a million vanity plates on the road. If you're driving in Virginia, one in six cars around you is trying to tell you something.

Curious what your Virginia plate could look like? See Virginia plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#2: New Hampshire (13.99%)

The "Live Free or Die" state ranks second nationally in vanity plate adoption, with roughly 14% of registered vehicles sporting personalized tags. The Granite State's culture of individualism is a natural fit for putting your own words on your car. Its iconic plate design and reasonable annual fees make it easy for New Hampshire drivers to opt in.

See New Hampshire plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#3: Illinois (13.41%)

Illinois has the distinction of the highest raw number of vanity plates on the road of any state in the country, thanks to its combination of a high adoption rate and a large population. Roughly 13% of Illinois vehicles carry a personalized plate. Chicago's deep car culture and a reasonable pricing structure keep the numbers strong.

See Illinois plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#4: Nevada (12.73%)

Home of Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, Nevada punches well above its weight on the vanity plate leaderboard. Around 13% of Nevada's registered vehicles carry a personalized plate, giving Silver State drivers plenty of ways to broadcast their personality, from tourists' rentals to locals' daily drivers.

See Nevada plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#5: Montana (9.80%)

Montana rounds out the top 5 with just under 10% of registered vehicles sporting vanity plates. In Big Sky Country, drivers spend a lot of time behind the wheel covering wide open highway, which makes a personalized plate a small but meaningful piece of personal expression. Montana is also nationally known for its LLC-registration option that draws exotic car collectors from around the country, which contributes to the plate diversity you'll see on Montana roads.

See Montana plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#6: Maine (9.70%)

Maine sits right behind Montana with 9.7% adoption. Vacationland's tight-knit local culture and pride of place make personalized plates a popular choice. From lobster boats to lakeside cabins to Portland's coffee shops, Maine drivers use their plates to show off what they love about the state.

See Maine plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#7: Connecticut (8.14%)

The Constitution State comes in at #7 with just over 8% of registered vehicles carrying a vanity plate. Connecticut's higher-than-average household income and dense car culture along the I-95 corridor help drive the numbers. A quick drive through Greenwich or Fairfield County will show you no shortage of personalized plates on high-end vehicles.

See Connecticut plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#8: New Jersey (6.80%)

The Garden State has one of the densest populations of drivers in the country, and roughly 7% of them opt for personalized plates. New Jersey's car culture, especially along the Shore and in the northern suburbs, gives plenty of drivers a reason to make their plate their own.

See New Jersey plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#9: North Dakota (6.50%)

North Dakota is a surprising entry in the top 10 given its relatively small population, but its high per-capita rate (roughly 6.5%) reflects a driving culture where residents spend serious time in their cars covering long rural distances. When you're on the road that much, a personalized plate becomes a natural little touch of identity.

See North Dakota plate ideas, rules, and fees →

#10: Vermont (6.10%)

Vermont rounds out the top 10 with about 6.1% of registered vehicles carrying a vanity plate. The Green Mountain State's quirky, independent culture translates well onto license plates. Vermont drivers use their plates to show off everything from ski passes to farm names to political leanings.

See Vermont plate ideas, rules, and fees →

Why the Top 10 Looks the Way It Does

A few patterns stand out from this list:

• Affordability drives adoption. States with the lowest annual vanity plate fees (Virginia at ~$10/year, New Hampshire, Illinois) tend to have the highest adoption rates. Where the price is low, the personalization rate is high.
• Smaller states over-index. Seven of the top 10 have populations under 3 million. In a smaller state, a personalized plate feels less anonymous. You're more likely to actually see the same plate twice.
• Big states dominate absolute numbers. Illinois' large population is why it leads in raw plate count while ranking third by percentage. California, Texas, and New York have millions of vanity plates but lower per-capita rates because of their massive vehicle counts.
• Culture matters. New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" ethos, Nevada's entertainment identity, Montana's open-road driving culture. Each of these states has a self-expressive streak that shows up on their bumpers.

Look Out, Top 10: Mississippi Is Coming for You

Mississippi isn't on the leaderboard today, but keep an eye on it. The state set out to grow vanity plate adoption and pulled off something few other states have tried: it flipped the script.

Instead of adding yet another optional design to the standard plate, Mississippi took a look that was already trending nationally, the all-black plate with white lettering, and made it available only through the state's vanity plate program. If you wanted a blackout plate on your car, you had to personalize it.

The response was massive. In the first three months of 2024 alone, Mississippi sold 27,056 blackout plates. Since the program launched, the state has moved over 143,000 of them. And the most remarkable part? Mississippi never spent a dollar on advertising. The whole boom was driven by word of mouth.

There's a public-good angle too: all of the proceeds go to the Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Death Benefits Trust Fund, which is the tribute behind the sample plate below.

Read the full Mississippi story →

See Mississippi plate ideas, rules, and fees →

The Bottom Line

If you're in Virginia, chances are you already have one, or someone you know does. If you're in one of the other states in the top 10, personalizing your plate isn't just common. It's practically expected.

Whatever state you drive in, our AI generator gives you 10 personalized vanity plate ideas in seconds, tailored to your state's exact character limit and DMV rules. It's free to try.

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Ranking data based on the AAMVA (American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) survey, the canonical publicly-cited source for state-by-state vanity plate adoption. Recent public reporting confirms Virginia and New Hampshire have retained their top-two positions.