New Vehicle Registration Study Ranks States by Population Rate
A new FLBR Motorsport study reveals Oklahoma leads at nearly double the rate of any other state, while Kentucky ranks last in per-capita registrations...
A new study by FLBR Motorsport ranked U.S. states based on the number of new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents, revealing which parts of the country recorded the highest rates in 2025. Across all 50 states, 16,395,737 new vehicles were registered in 2025, but the report revealed that new car activity is far from evenly spread across the country. Some states are registering new vehicles at several times the rate of others when population size is taken into account.
The Top Five
Oklahoma ranks first, with 147.16 new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents. The state sits well ahead of every other state in the ranking, recording almost twice the rate of the next state on the list.
Vermont ranks second, with 76.44 registrations per 1,000 residents, followed by New Hampshire in third at 71.23.
Florida takes fourth place, recording 63.03 new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents. With one of the largest populations in the country, Florida also records a high number of new vehicles overall.
Montana ranks fifth at 60.21 registrations per 1,000 residents, making it the final state in the top five.
At the Bottom
Meanwhile, Kentucky has the lowest rate in the study, with 33.74 new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents.
Kansas has the second-lowest rate at 34.85 registrations per 1,000 residents, followed by Washington at 35.63.
Maryland ranks fourth from the bottom, recording 36.16 new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents, while Indiana completes the bottom five with 36.74.
The Full Ranking
Here are the results from FLBR Motorsport’s study:
Editor’s note: State-level per-capita figures for Alaska and Hawaii were not included in the data set provided for this study. The ranking below reflects the 48 states for which data was available; the total registration figure above reflects all 50 states.
| Rank | State | New vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 147.16 |
| 2 | Vermont | 76.44 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 71.23 |
| 4 | Florida | 63.03 |
| 5 | Montana | 60.21 |
| 6 | Michigan | 57.64 |
| 7 | New Jersey | 54.97 |
| 8 | North Dakota | 54.66 |
| 9 | Missouri | 52.41 |
| 10 | Arizona | 51.73 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 51.12 |
| 12 | Texas | 49.80 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 48.23 |
| 14 | Delaware | 48.07 |
| 15 | Nevada | 47.76 |
| 16 | Louisiana | 47.29 |
| 17 | Ohio | 46.96 |
| 18 | Georgia | 46.32 |
| 19 | Maine | 46.27 |
| 20 | California | 45.92 |
| 21 | Illinois | 45.44 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 45.31 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 45.19 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 45.18 |
| 25 | New York | 44.91 |
| 26 | Arkansas | 43.46 |
| 27 | Alabama | 42.94 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 42.83 |
| 29 | North Carolina | 42.54 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | 42.43 |
| 31 | Nebraska | 42.43 |
| 32 | Wyoming | 41.75 |
| 33 | South Carolina | 41.65 |
| 34 | Utah | 41.50 |
| 35 | Virginia | 41.19 |
| 36 | Connecticut | 40.95 |
| 37 | Iowa | 39.76 |
| 38 | Idaho | 39.02 |
| 39 | Mississippi | 38.34 |
| 40 | New Mexico | 38.19 |
| 41 | Oregon | 37.45 |
| 42 | South Dakota | 37.14 |
| 43 | Colorado | 36.83 |
| 44 | Indiana | 36.74 |
| 45 | Maryland | 36.16 |
| 46 | Washington | 35.63 |
| 47 | Kansas | 34.85 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 33.74 |
Methodology
The study ranked U.S. states based on the number of new vehicle registrations per 1,000 residents in 2025. New vehicle registration figures were sourced from F&I Tools’ 2025 New Vehicle Sales by State data, with a total of 16,395,737 new vehicles registered across all 50 states. State population figures were used to adjust the data for population size.
Sources: F&I Tools, U.S. Census Bureau
