Most Common Out-Of-State License Plates In Your Area That DON'T Border Your Stat

[thenetwork]

I was out on I-70 in Western Colorado today.  The majority of car license plates is (duh?) Colorado with nearby Utah a close second.

So EXCLUDING all plates from bordering states, what 1-states are the most common "visiting" license plates that pass through your area??

Again, in my W. CO travels over the last few weeks, most cars/RVs I've seen are from (in no particular order):

- California
- Nevada
- Texas

Your area?

[webny99]

In this part of New York, I think Florida is a clear #1.

After that, it's probably:
-Ohio and Virginia
-Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire in some order
-Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina in some order

Not a lot of West Virginia or Maine. You will see the occasional California or Texas, which are probably mostly rental vehicles.
I think that covers the bases. Everything else is either a border state, or too rare (at least in my experience) to be worth mentioning.

[Rothman]

Same here in NY: Florida.

[Ben114]

In Massachusetts: New Jersey

[webny99]

I think we just found out the character limit for thread titles: 80 characters
"State" in this title has become "Stat", and it wasn't a typo, because I just tried to add the "e" with no success.

[corco]

In Idaho it is absolutely, 100% California.

[jeffandnicole]

It can vary slightly, but in my area of NJ, Virginia & North Carolina seem to be relatively common. Maryland, while less than 15 minutes away, may not even be in the top 5.

[Flint1979]

I've seen lately

Virginia
Florida
California
New York
Washington
Texas

Those are just off the top of my head.

[Roadgeekteen]

In Massachusetts: New Jersey

I concur, Maine probably follows.

[Konza]

Texas.

Military base near here.  Texas is a populous state.  Lots of military bases.  Lots of Texans in the military, and more who become Texans when they get stationed in Texas.

Oregon or Washington might be next, but most of them have headed back north by now.

[DandyDan]

I see a lot of Texas for some reason here. Texas is straight down I-35. I also see a lot of Michigan, which I don't have a good explanation for. The guy in the apartment across the hall has a Michigan plate on his Ford Fusion, largely because his dad, who still lives there, has his name on the title.

It was much more interesting when I lived in the Omaha area, as I lived fairly close to Offutt AFB. I would see Hawaii regularly and I saw Guam more than a few times.

[NWI_Irish96]

For Indiana it really depends on what road you're on and what part of the state you're in. Where I live now, it's definitely Wisconsin. If I'm on 65 south of Indianapolis, it's Tennessee. I rarely drive on 70, but I imagine it would be Missouri.

[jmacswimmer]

It can vary slightly, but in my area of NJ, Virginia & North Carolina seem to be relatively common. Maryland, while less than 15 minutes away, may not even be in the top 5.

Conversely, I've noticed a lot of NJ plates over here in Maryland.  NY, NC, & FL plates also seem to be a common sight.

[hotdogPi]

I see more Maine than New Jersey here.

[Roadgeekteen]

I see more Maine than New Jersey here.

PRobably depends on where in Massachusetts. You live closer to Maine.

[1995hoo]

Hard to say because, with the nation's capital being here along with multiple military installations, we see loads of out-of-state plates. In my unscientific observation, it feels like New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida are the most common.

[ari-s-drives]

I'm in California suburbs so I don't see a lot of non-bordering states but most of the ones I do see are Texas (and there's a military base in my town so I often see one car with a Virginia plate that hasn't reg'd it in CA yet).

[jp the roadgeek]

I would say in CT it's a close battle between Vermont and New Jersey, depending on which part of the state you're in.  Vermont is popular because for years, many people have notoriously skirted the property tax laws by registering their car at their ski chalet up there.  The next 4 in no particular order would be New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

[STLmapboy]

Florida is no 1 in St Louis besides Illinois. It's actually pretty uncommon to see some bordering states (like Iowa or Nebraska).

[kphoger]

Easy.  Texas.

In fact, when I make license plate spotting games for road trips, I give more points for spotting Oklahoma in Kansas than I do for spotting Texas in Kansas.

[US 89]

For northern Utah, almost certainly the answer is California. If I had to put the states I see around here in order, it'd look something like this:

1. UT
2. ID
3. NV
4. CA
5. WY
6. CO
7. AZ
8. TX
9. WA
10. OR

In Atlanta, the answer is easily Florida. By far.

[hotdogPi]

In Atlanta, the answer is easily Florida. By far.

Except that the two states are adjacent.

[kphoger]

However, on the Interstate, I'd say the following are very common in Kansas:

Illinois
Indiana
Maine

Can you guess why?

[webny99]

However, on the Interstate, I'd say the following are very common in Kansas:

Illinois
Indiana
Maine

Can you guess why?

No idea.

The first two make sense, based on location, but Maine is an oddball. In fact, out of all 50 states, probably only Alaska and Hawaii would be more of an oddball than Maine, in Kansas.

[hotdogPi]

Maine and Indiana are both common on trucks.