These Are The Best-Selling Cars In Every State

We can tell you what the best-selling cars of 2025 are so far, but the final numbers for the year won't be in until a few months into 2026. We have the numbers for the best-selling vehicles of 2024, though, and that list doesn't hold too many surprises: American car buyers went all-in on pickups and SUVs. You have to get all the way down to number eight, the Toyota Camry, before you see an old-fashioned sedan on the list.

While nothing was shocking on the overall list of best-sellers nationwide, drilling down into the list of sales champs in each state is a little bit more eye-opening. You might not be surprised to learn — mild spoiler alert — that the best-selling ride in Texas was the Ford F-150. They like their vehicles as big as their ranches. But we can almost guarantee you that the champion of new car lots in Alabama isn't what you'd expect.

We found a couple of lists of state-by-state best-sellers, one from Motor Trend and one from Road & Track via Yahoo! Finance. The lists are very similar, with a few diversions. Since the Motor Trend list is slightly newer and may have last-minute updates to the data, wherever there is a disagreement between the lists, we went with Motor Trend.

No surprises here. The Ford F-150 was the best-selling vehicle, period, for over four decades until the humble Toyota RAV4 became the best-selling vehicle in 2024. The F-150 is still just behind the RAV4 in sales numbers, though, so it's no shock that it's the choice of new car buyers in several states. Those states are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Michigan.

These states share a fair number of traits, namely wide-open spaces with huge farms and ranches — the F-150's natural environment. Some of them also have substantial oil and gas industries, such as Texas and Louisiana, and this industry is a natural fit for big pickups. It's easy to picture oilfield workers heading out at dawn in their trucks, along muddy tracks leading to oil derricks.

Michigan might seem to be a bit of an outlier on this list at first glance. It certainly offers a wealth of outdoor activities for which a big pickup might be complimentary, such as towing boats to sail on any of the three Great Lakes that border the state. However, many states offer similar recreation. But Ford's big pickup has a hometown advantage in Michigan, as many F-150s are built there in Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant.

It might seem surprising at first that the Honda CR-V ties the F-150 for the most states conquered on the sales charts. But the CR-V, like the RAV4, is part of the compact crossover SUV category that sells like hotcakes. In fact, small crossovers are catching up to big trucks on the best-seller sales charts. The Honda CR-V is right up there among the most popular little utes in the segment. In fact, with an astonishing 15 million units sold worldwide just during the decade from 2015 through 2024, it's Honda's best-selling vehicle.

Buyers in these states could tell you why: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Finding a common thread among these states is a bit tricky. While several of them are big, crowded Eastern Seaboard states with large cities surrounded by vast seas of suburbs, perfect territory for small SUVs, some of these states don't really fit this mold. The snowier northern states can certainly benefit from the CR-V's available Real Time All-wheel Drive with Intelligent Control System, but that doesn't explain the CR-V's popularity in the Carolinas.

In the end, it may be that the CR-V is simply the perfect vehicle for people across a range of regions and lifestyles. When our reviewer drove the 2023 Honda CR-V, the first year of the current generation, he found that its improved driving experience, fuel economy, and a "pretty sleek" interior made it a worthy option, with the hybrid model being "the obvious choice for most Americans."

We've already mentioned the Toyota RAV4's climb up the sales charts a couple of times, so it's no surprise to see that it's the number one seller in a big chunk of the country. It's the sales champ in nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, and Oregon.

The RAV4 just missed sweeping all six New England states, and it's easy to see why it's popular in this region: it snows here. Quite a bit, actually. Likewise, in Idaho and the mountainous areas of Oregon. The RAV4's available all-wheel drive comes in handy. Some trim levels take it a step further with Toyota's Dynamic Torque Vectoring, which distributes torque between the rear wheels in response to surface conditions while disengaging the rear drive shaft when not needed. This avoids the mechanical drag of some full-time AWD systems.

But aside from the AWD, which probably isn't so relevant in Georgia and Florida, what explains the RAV4's popularity? Toyota's legendary reliability certainly plays a part, as well as the general practicality of the compact crossover SUV form factor. Good fuel economy is undoubtedly a big consideration for buyers, too, and with the new 2026 RAV4 going hybrid-only, this will continue to be a major strength.

That the Tesla Model Y is even on this list is a testament to what a major player Tesla has become in a relatively short time, as well as the increasing appeal of electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla's compact, electric-only SUV topped the sales lists in California, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Jersey. So what do these states have in common that explains their preference for an EV? Well, culturally, some of these states are pretty tech-obsessed. Silicon Valley is in California, and Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, so it's not surprising that a high-tech car is popular in these states.

Here are some other factors: Nevada has the second-cheapest electricity prices in the nation, while Colorado offers a tax credit of up to $5,000 for EV buyers on top of federal tax credits, and New Jersey offers up to $4,000. Arizona shows a pioneering attitude regarding electric vehicles, having just granted Tesla a ride-hailing permit for its Robotaxi. But something else has been quietly going on behind the scenes in the West for years that helps explain Tesla's success there.

According to Deseret News, Tesla, which was founded in California, convinced several Western states to drop legal barriers against selling its cars directly to consumers. Plus, in 2017, the Governors of eight Western states formed a joint plan to build up their EV charging infrastructures. Not every state has succeeded so far, but Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah saw EV registrations grow by over 400 percent between 2017 and 2021. The Model Y has been a major beneficiary of this cultural shift.

The Silverado 1500 was the best seller in the rugged mountain states of Alaska, Kentucky, West Virginia, and...um, Iowa? Well, many of the vehicles on this list have one or two states that are outliers, and Iowa's fondness for the Silverado reveals the full-size Chevy pickup's appeal across different regions. From the Appalachian coal-mining country of Kentucky and West Virginia to the Arctic frontier of Alaska to the endless cornfields of Iowa, the Silverado 1500 meets the need for a capable truck.

The Silverado 1500 has a lot to commend it. It made our list of the longest-lasting vehicles to go over 200,000 miles in, and we found the Silverado with the Duramax diesel to be among the trucks with the best mpg, coming in second only to the much smaller Ford Maverick. The Duramax is one of a range of engines that also includes a 310-hp, 2.7-liter four-cylinder, a 355-hp, 5.3-liter V8, and a 420-hp, 6.2-liter V8. Its maximum towing capacity of 13,000 pounds is second in its class.

With optional four-wheel drive, tons of clever storage space, the Multi-Flex tailgate, a range of bed lengths, and generous rear passenger space in crew cab models, the Silverado makes a good case for itself. It also offers the Super Cruise hands-free driving system, which works even when towing a trailer. It also drives like a smaller vehicle, making its size less intimidating to a broad range of potential buyers.

New car buyers in Tennessee went Rogue, so to speak, with a singular bestseller from Nissan. That's not so surprising considering that Nissan's U.S. headquarters is in the Volunteer State. Last year, in fact, the Tennessee Manufacturers Association declared the Nissan Rogue the winner of its "Coolest Thing Made in Tennessee" award. No wonder Tennesseans are fond of the Rogue!

Of course, cool is a matter of opinion. Our review found the 2024 Nissan Rogue to be the "most crossover crossover to ever crossover." In other words, we found that it wasn't exciting, but it did everything well enough to be a perfect compact crossover SUV for shoppers who weren't looking for a car to electrify their souls. It offers great fuel economy, a high-tech interior, and a starting price of just a hair over $30,000 for 2026, along with a distinctively futuristic exterior design.

Nissan built its plant in Smyrna, a central Tennessee town of about 57,000, in 1983. It currently employs about 5,700 people directly while supporting numerous nearby businesses that have sprung up to supply the plant. Tennessee has rewarded the manufacturer with its vehicular loyalty.

This may be the most counterintuitive car on our list. The Toyota Camry is the best-selling vehicle in Alabama? Not a half-ton (or larger) pickup truck, equipped by the dealership with a lift kit and huge off-road tires, and maybe a horn that plays Dixie? OK, now that I've poured out all my New England Yankee stereotypes about drivers in the Yellowhammer State (that's a bird, by the way), I'll confess that I'm actually quite fond of Alabama. I had relatives who lived there for several years, and it's a delightful place, and it's not at all surprising that Alabamians have good taste in cars.

Plus, like the Rogue in Tennessee, the Camry is something of a home-state car in Alabama. Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM), a joint venture between the two automakers, operates a factory in the North Alabama community of Greenbrier, near Huntsville. The Camry isn't built there, but rather the Toyota Corolla Cross alongside the Mazda CX-50. But car buyers in Alabama show their loyalty to Toyota via their fondness for the Camry.

As we mentioned earlier, the Camry is the best-selling traditional sedan in America. In fact, last year it reached 23 years straight as the best-selling "passenger car" in the U.S. This is according to a Toyota press release that clearly distinguishes between passenger cars and SUVs, since it also boasts of the RAV4 being the best-selling SUV for 8 years running. It's no wonder buyers still flock to the Camry after all this time, as it continues to improve in nearly every area, including fuel efficiency: all Camrys now feature hybrid drivetrains.

Here's proof that car buyers in Arkansas have class: the state's favorite new vehicle is the GMC Sierra 1500, the Silverado's upscale cousin. Full-size pickups sweep the gold, silver, and bronze spots on the sales charts in Razorback country, with the F-150 and the Silverado 1500 itself coming in right behind the Sierra 1500. Still, it's surprising that a truck whose price can easily soar past $80,000 is the number one seller in any state.

Let's advance a hypothesis, then. In a state where the three best-selling vehicles are all pickup trucks, the Silverado 1500 and the F-150 may have split the market for more work-oriented pickups, leaving the Sierra 1500 to clean up the luxury tier of the segment. Hey, it's as good a theory as any, so we're sticking with it.

In the meantime: good choice, Arkansas! The Sierra 1500 offers all of the go-anywhere grunt and towing capacity of its Chevy cousin, but in a three-piece suit instead of jeans and a Carhartt jacket. Especially if you can afford the Denali Ultimate trim level and its $84,200 base price. This comes with a 6.2-liter V8, "Denali Signature Vader Chrome grille," Super Cruise, 16-way power heated seats with massage, and, well, once you have a 16-way massaging seat, it's safe to say you must also have every luxury feature known to man.

If you've been checking off states on your map while reading along, you've deduced that only Hawaii is left to cover. Buyers in the Aloha State went big for the Toyota Tacoma. One might expect that the best-seller in Hawaii would be a convertible, but there aren't many convertibles left in the U.S. market — and besides, even though convertibles are great rentals for tourists, they aren't very practical everyday drivers for the locals.

Enter the Tacoma, affectionately abbreviated far and wide as the "Taco." (Toyota's website even has a "secret" Taco Club for Tacoma owners.) This midsize pickup fits the bill nicely for car shoppers looking for something practical. Double-cab models offer seating for five, albeit in somewhat tight quarters for adults. But your kids won't notice that. It offers a choice of 5-foot and 6-foot beds, optional four-wheel drive, and the ability to haul 1,700 pounds. Plus, it offers the intangible cool factor of being called the Taco.

The Tacoma offers another unique quality: it's the last pickup truck in America with a manual transmission. (How's that for cool?) It also carries Toyota's halo of reliability, with the 2020 Tacoma named among the most reliable used pickup trucks in America by Consumer Reports. Plus, if you decide to go skiing — yes, there is skiing in Hawaii, on Mauna Kea — and you get caught in a snowstorm, the Tacoma's 4x4 system can get you back down off the mountain safely. What's not to love?