(iSeeCars) — Buying an American car has long been considered an act of patriotism, although the definition of buying American has become increasingly blurred.
There are cars with American nameplates like Buick that are manufactured overseas, while some Volkswagens and Toyotas are assembled in the United States. However, buying a domestic brand versus a foreign one can still signal a sense of pride among proud Americans, even if being made in America isn’t exclusive to American brands.
To determine which states favor domestic auto brands, iSeeCars analyzed 200,000 car sales to rank each state by their percentage share of cars with domestic nameplates.
| States with the Most American Vehicles | ||
| Rank | State | % American |
| 1 | Michigan | 76.6% |
| 2 | North Dakota | 69.4% |
| 3 | Wyoming | 69.3% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 68.6% |
| 5 | Iowa | 66.6% |
| 6 | Montana | 63.9% |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 60.1% |
| 8 | Nebraska | 59.7% |
| 9 | Kansas | 58.2% |
| 10 | Alaska | 56.5% |
| 11 | Indiana | 56.2% |
| 12 | Arkansas | 56.2% |
| 13 | Missouri | 55.4% |
| 14 | West Virginia | 54.9% |
| 15 | Kentucky | 54.6% |
| 16 | Minnesota | 54.4% |
| 17 | Ohio | 53.4% |
| 18 | Idaho | 53.3% |
| 19 | Maine | 52.6% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 52.4% |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 51.7% |
| 22 | Mississippi | 51.2% |
| 23 | Louisiana | 50.4% |
| 24 | Illinois | 47.7% |
| 25 | Texas | 46.3% |
| 26 | Tennessee | 45.7% |
| 27 | Alabama | 45.6% |
| 28 | South Carolina | 45.6% |
| 29 | New Hampshire | 45.2% |
| 30 | Vermont | 45.0% |
| 31 | Delaware | 44.9% |
| National Average | 44.8% | |
| 32 | Utah | 44.7% |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 44.3% |
| 34 | Colorado | 44.2% |
| 35 | North Carolina | 43.1% |
| 36 | Arizona | 42.8% |
| 37 | Georgia | 41.9% |
| 38 | New York | 40.7% |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 40.5% |
| 40 | Virginia | 40.4% |
| 41 | Nevada | 39.9% |
| 42 | Washington | 38.8% |
| 43 | Florida | 37.0% |
| 44 | Oregon | 36.5% |
| 45 | Maryland | 35.7% |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 33.5% |
| 47 | New Jersey | 32.1% |
| 48 | California | 31.1% |
| 49 | Connecticut | 29.2% |
| 50 | Hawaii | 23.7% |
- Michigan, home of the “Motor City” and headquarters of the Big Three automakers buys the most American vehicles, comprising 76.6 percent of the state’s vehicle share.
- Of the top 10 states with the most American brand cars, seven are in the Midwest, two are in the Rocky Mountain region, and one is in the Pacific.
- The state with the fewest American brand vehicles is Hawaii, a state which favors Japanese vehicles likely due to the highly diverse population.
- Nine out of the 10 states with the lowest proportion of American brand cars are coastal states.
While American cars were once perceived to be inferior to their foreign rivals, today’s American vehicles have caught up to their foreign counterparts in quality and reliability. In fact, many American vehicles made our list of the longest-lasting cars, and American pickups are among the most popular cars in the country. Whether you want a dependable truck, an electric vehicle with cutting-edge technology, or even a luxe SUV, there is an American vehicle to suit your needs.
More from iSeeCars.com:
Methodology:
iSeeCars analyzed over 200,000 used cars from model years 2018 – 2022 sold from May 2022 through April 2023. The number of cars from American automakers was tallied by state, and the resulting percentage shares were used to rank states.
This article, Which States Buy the Most American Cars? originally appeared on iSeeCars.com.
