Data / Rankings / Registered automobiles / US states

US states by registered automobiles

California had the highest registered automobiles of 51 states in 2023, at 13.43 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 129,249. The median was 1.4 million and the figure for the United States was 96.9 million. Source: the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Highest13,428,061California
Lowest129,249Alaska
Median1,401,56951 states
United States96,901,563History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 1,921,661 countAlaska: 129,249 countArizona: 2,272,039 countArkansas: 935,148 countCalifornia: 13,428,061 countColorado: 1,401,569 countConnecticut: 1,088,590 countDelaware: 154,675 countDistrict of Columbia: 176,357 countFlorida: 7,449,551 countGeorgia: 3,288,514 countHawaii: 436,224 countIdaho: 542,275 countIllinois: 3,531,472 countIndiana: 1,762,180 countIowa: 1,041,834 countKansas: 766,581 countKentucky: 1,517,380 countLouisiana: 1,407,575 countMaine: 374,850 countMaryland: 1,972,390 countMassachusetts: 1,841,502 countMichigan: 2,713,950 countMinnesota: 1,663,884 countMississippi: 789,001 countMissouri: 1,734,963 countMontana: 495,168 countNebraska: 577,876 countNevada: 990,801 countNew Hampshire: 415,178 countNew Jersey: 2,272,132 countNew Mexico: 601,418 countNew York: 2,826,637 countNorth Carolina: 3,082,979 countNorth Dakota: 220,884 countOhio: 3,915,430 countOklahoma: 1,013,005 countOregon: 1,347,532 countPennsylvania: 3,603,152 countRhode Island: 321,829 countSouth Carolina: 1,865,739 countSouth Dakota: 293,544 countTennessee: 2,269,998 countTexas: 7,500,927 countUtah: 981,361 countVermont: 165,119 countVirginia: 2,913,896 countWashington: 2,603,593 countWest Virginia: 421,961 countWisconsin: 1,683,880 countWyoming: 176,050 count
  • Under 400K
  • 400K to 800K
  • 800K to 1.4M
  • 1.4M to 1.9M
  • 1.9M to 2.9M
  • 2.9M and over
count, 2023. Source: FHWA, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

California: 13,428,061 countCalifornia13,428,061Texas: 7,500,927 countTexas7,500,927Florida: 7,449,551 countFlorida7,449,551Ohio: 3,915,430 countOhio3,915,430Pennsylvania: 3,603,152 countPennsylvania3,603,152Illinois: 3,531,472 countIllinois3,531,472Georgia: 3,288,514 countGeorgia3,288,514North Carolina: 3,082,979 countNorth Carolina3,082,979Virginia: 2,913,896 countVirginia2,913,896New York: 2,826,637 countNew York2,826,637Michigan: 2,713,950 countMichigan2,713,950Washington: 2,603,593 countWashington2,603,593New Jersey: 2,272,132 countNew Jersey2,272,132Arizona: 2,272,039 countArizona2,272,039Tennessee: 2,269,998 countTennessee2,269,998Maryland: 1,972,390 countMaryland1,972,390Alabama: 1,921,661 countAlabama1,921,661South Carolina: 1,865,739 countSouth Carolina1,865,739Massachusetts: 1,841,502 countMassachusetts1,841,502Indiana: 1,762,180 countIndiana1,762,180Missouri: 1,734,963 countMissouri1,734,963Wisconsin: 1,683,880 countWisconsin1,683,880Minnesota: 1,663,884 countMinnesota1,663,884Kentucky: 1,517,380 countKentucky1,517,380Louisiana: 1,407,575 countLouisiana1,407,575Colorado: 1,401,569 countColorado1,401,569Oregon: 1,347,532 countOregon1,347,532Connecticut: 1,088,590 countConnecticut1,088,590Iowa: 1,041,834 countIowa1,041,834Oklahoma: 1,013,005 countOklahoma1,013,005Nevada: 990,801 countNevada990,801Utah: 981,361 countUtah981,361Arkansas: 935,148 countArkansas935,148Mississippi: 789,001 countMississippi789,001Kansas: 766,581 countKansas766,581New Mexico: 601,418 countNew Mexico601,418Nebraska: 577,876 countNebraska577,876Idaho: 542,275 countIdaho542,275Montana: 495,168 countMontana495,168Hawaii: 436,224 countHawaii436,224West Virginia: 421,961 countWest Virginia421,961New Hampshire: 415,178 countNew Hampshire415,178Maine: 374,850 countMaine374,850Rhode Island: 321,829 countRhode Island321,829South Dakota: 293,544 countSouth Dakota293,544North Dakota: 220,884 countNorth Dakota220,884District of Columbia: 176,357 countDistrict of Columbia176,357Wyoming: 176,050 countWyoming176,050Vermont: 165,119 countVermont165,119Delaware: 154,675 countDelaware154,675Alaska: 129,249 countAlaska129,249California: 13,428,061 countCalifornia13,428,061Texas: 7,500,927 countTexas7,500,927Florida: 7,449,551 countFlorida7,449,551Ohio: 3,915,430 countOhio3,915,430Pennsylvania: 3,603,152 countPennsylvania3,603,152Illinois: 3,531,472 countIllinois3,531,472Georgia: 3,288,514 countGeorgia3,288,514North Carolina: 3,082,979 countNorth Carolina3,082,979Virginia: 2,913,896 countVirginia2,913,896New York: 2,826,637 countNew York2,826,637Michigan: 2,713,950 countMichigan2,713,950Washington: 2,603,593 countWashington2,603,593New Jersey: 2,272,132 countNew Jersey2,272,132Arizona: 2,272,039 countArizona2,272,039Tennessee: 2,269,998 countTennessee2,269,998Maryland: 1,972,390 countMaryland1,972,390Alabama: 1,921,661 countAlabama1,921,661South Carolina: 1,865,739 countSouth Carolina1,865,739Massachusetts: 1,841,502 countMassachusetts1,841,502Indiana: 1,762,180 countIndiana1,762,180Missouri: 1,734,963 countMissouri1,734,963Wisconsin: 1,683,880 countWisconsin1,683,880Minnesota: 1,663,884 countMinnesota1,663,884Kentucky: 1,517,380 countKentucky1,517,380Louisiana: 1,407,575 countLouisiana1,407,575Colorado: 1,401,569 countColorado1,401,569Oregon: 1,347,532 countOregon1,347,532Connecticut: 1,088,590 countConnecticut1,088,590Iowa: 1,041,834 countIowa1,041,834Oklahoma: 1,013,005 countOklahoma1,013,005Nevada: 990,801 countNevada990,801Utah: 981,361 countUtah981,361Arkansas: 935,148 countArkansas935,148Mississippi: 789,001 countMississippi789,001Kansas: 766,581 countKansas766,581New Mexico: 601,418 countNew Mexico601,418Nebraska: 577,876 countNebraska577,876Idaho: 542,275 countIdaho542,275Montana: 495,168 countMontana495,168Hawaii: 436,224 countHawaii436,224West Virginia: 421,961 countWest Virginia421,961New Hampshire: 415,178 countNew Hampshire415,178Maine: 374,850 countMaine374,850Rhode Island: 321,829 countRhode Island321,829South Dakota: 293,544 countSouth Dakota293,544North Dakota: 220,884 countNorth Dakota220,884District of Columbia: 176,357 countDistrict of Columbia176,357Wyoming: 176,050 countWyoming176,050Vermont: 165,119 countVermont165,119Delaware: 154,675 countDelaware154,675Alaska: 129,249 countAlaska129,249
count. Source: FHWA, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
count		Change on 2022
1California13,428,061-2.7%
2Texas7,500,927-2.3%
3Florida7,449,551-4%
4Ohio3,915,430-1.8%
5Pennsylvania3,603,152-3.6%
6Illinois3,531,472-5.3%
7Georgia3,288,514-3.6%
8North Carolina3,082,979-5.9%
9Virginia2,913,896-0.8%
10New York Estimated2,826,637-4.8%
11Michigan2,713,950-0.1%
12Washington2,603,593-8.1%
13New Jersey2,272,132-3.3%
14Arizona2,272,039+3.2%
15Tennessee2,269,998-1.8%
16Maryland1,972,390-2.6%
17Alabama1,921,661-3.7%
18South Carolina1,865,739-2.9%
19Massachusetts1,841,502-2.9%
20Indiana1,762,180+2.9%
21Missouri1,734,963-1.6%
22Wisconsin1,683,880-2.7%
23Minnesota1,663,884-1.5%
24Kentucky1,517,380+2.6%
25Louisiana1,407,575-5.3%
26Colorado1,401,569-2.8%
27Oregon1,347,532-0.6%
28Connecticut1,088,590-1.1%
29Iowa1,041,834-2.2%
30Oklahoma1,013,005-1.6%
31Nevada990,801-2.8%
32Utah981,361+1.6%
33Arkansas935,148+0.7%
34Mississippi789,001-5.7%
35Kansas766,581-7.2%
36New Mexico601,418-0.4%
37Nebraska577,876-2.8%
38Idaho Estimated542,275-2.2%
39Montana495,168+4.5%
40Hawaii436,224-2%
41West Virginia421,961-10.9%
42New Hampshire415,178-6.3%
43Maine374,850+0.5%
44Rhode Island321,829-1.5%
45South Dakota293,544-4.5%
46North Dakota220,884-7.5%
47District of Columbia176,357-12.4%
48Wyoming176,050-4.4%
49Vermont165,119-4.6%
50Delaware154,675-9%
51Alaska129,249-3.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Automobiles registered during the year, taxicabs included.

More on how it is measured
  • FHWA Highway Statistics table MV-1 counts the vehicles registered in each state during the year, from the records of the state motor vehicle agencies: private, commercial and publicly owned vehicles, but not those of the armed forces.
  • A vehicle is counted in the state that registered it.

From the 2012 table FHWA allocates light-duty vehicles between automobiles and trucks with its own method, and automobiles fall from 125.7 million in 2011 to 111.3 million in 2012 while trucks rise from 118.5 million to 133.1 million, so the split is not comparable across those years. The all motor vehicles total is. Many sport utility vehicles, pickups and vans count as trucks, not automobiles. States keep their registers differently: some report registration transactions during the year or vehicles on multi-year registrations instead of active registrations, and a change in what a state reports can move its count sharply from one year to the next (Delaware in 2021, New York in 2024). Values for states FHWA estimated, or for which it repeated the previous year, are marked estimated. FHWA publishes some counts with fractions; they are rounded to whole vehicles.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Highway Statistics, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. (2026). Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states (US states by registered automobiles, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm

MLA 9

Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states, US states by registered automobiles, 2023. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 23 Feb. 2026, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. 2026. Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. US states by registered automobiles, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023.

Harvard

Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (2026) Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states, US states by registered automobiles, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_registered_2023,
  author = {{Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation}},
  title = {{Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states: US states by registered automobiles, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023. Publisher attribution: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Highway Statistics, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
TI  - Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states: US states by registered automobiles, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/23
PB  - Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/registered-automobiles/us-states?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Highway Statistics, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest registered automobiles?

California, with 13.43 million in 2023, according to the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

Which state has the lowest registered automobiles?

Alaska, with 129,249 in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Table MV-1, State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (automobiles, total), United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

US states: more rankings