It cannot be denied — Americans love pickup trucks. Once again in 2023, pickup trucks dominated car sales, capturing the top three spots. In third place was Stellantis’ Ram pickup with 444,926 trucks sold, and in second was General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado with 543,780 pickups sold, according to CNBC. And as it has been in the past 41 years, , according to Detroit Free Press, the Ford F-Series truck was the best-selling vehicle also in 2023 with 750,789 units sold. (Here are America’s 17 favorite pickup trucks.)
As CNBC explains, part of the popularity of pickups is that they are also bought by fleet buyers, in addition to individuals. Still, considering their power and versatility and how vast the U.S. is, they appeal to many Americans, and not just in rural areas where distances are great.
To determine the states where the share of pickup trucks is the highest, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed car search and research company iSeeCars.com’s Which States Drive the Most Pickup Trucks? iSeeCars.com analyzed over 21 million used car sales from April 2022 through March 2023 to calculate the shares of light-duty pickup trucks within each state. Listed here are the 32 states where the share of pickups is above the national average of 16.7%.
While pickups may appeal to many, they are certainly more useful in less dense urban areas. Indeed, while states such as New York, Maryland, and New Jersey rank among the states with lowest shares of pickup trucks, sparsely-populated Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Alaska, to name a few, are among the states with the highest shares of pickups. (Also see, the most fuel efficient new pickup trucks on the market.)
Many of the states with the highest shares of pickup trucks also have rugged terrain and / or harsh winters. In fact, according to iSeeCars, the states with the 10 highest share of pickup trucks are Northern and mountainous states. Flat Florida and Illinois, on the other hand, have among the lowest share.
These are the states where the most people drive pickups:
32. Oregon
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 16.9%
31. Arizona
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 17.1%
30. Washington
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 17.6%
29. South Carolina
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 18.5%
28. Michigan
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 18.7%
27. Tennessee
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 18.8%
26. Missouri
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 18.8%
25. New Hampshire
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 19.3%
24. Colorado
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 19.3%
23. Texas
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 19.7%
22. Utah
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 19.9%
21. Oklahoma
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 19.9%
20. Alabama
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 20.3%
19. Minnesota
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 20.7%
18. Kansas
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 21.1%
17. Wisconsin
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 21.2%
16. Kentucky
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 21.8%
15. Mississippi
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 23.0%
14. New Mexico
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 23.0%
13. Louisiana
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 23.9%
12. Nebraska
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 24.2%
11. Vermont
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 24.2%
10. Arkansas
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 24.3%
9. Iowa
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 24.4%
8. Maine
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 25.0%
7. West Virginia
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 25.5%
6. Alaska
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 26.4%
5. South Dakota
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 29.1%
3. North Dakota
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 31.6%
2. Montana
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 34.7%
1. Wyoming
- Pickups as pct. of vehicles: 37.1%
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