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

[DandyDan]

In central and southern Minnesota it's definitely Illinois. As you get further north and east Michigan plates are pretty common as well (assuming that MI counts since technically MI and MN share a water border). I'm thinking that western Minnesota probably sees quite a few Nebraska/Kansas plates but I'm very rarely in that part of the state so I can't verify.

I was having trouble coming up with an answer because I really don't see anything in the metro that isn't WI or less frequently ND.

Whenever I go up to the Twin Cities and away from the airport/MoA area, I often wonder if I am the only Iowa resident up there. I know here in Mason City, I see plenty of Minnesota plates and plenty of cars bought in Twin Cities auto dealerships, but you'd think you would see more Iowa plates up there than you do.

[ftballfan]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

[wxfree]

I have a question for a subcategory of this topic.  What out-of-state plates are most common in Hawaii?

[7/8]

For my part of Ontario, my guesses would be:
1) Alberta - Lots of people have moved out west since the economy used to be really strong. They're probably a mix of people moving back to Ontario and people visiting family here
2) Florida - Probably from snowbirds
3) Illinois - Large population not too far from the border

What about PA and Ohio, are you considering them to "border" Ontario?

I was, though it's certainly debatable. Ohio at least can be reached by ferry.

[cpzilliacus]

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.

North Carolina is pretty common around the Washington area.  The states that are remarkably rare but not far away are West Virginia and Delaware. 

[ilpt4u]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

[bing101]

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).

I seen the Texas one, Colorado and Hawaii license plates common in California.

[briantroutman]

Only partially serious...

Arizona. Because of U-Haul.

Along the same lines, I might suggest Indiana because of the many trucking fleets that have their vehicles plated in Indiana. (Aside: Is Indiana the only state that allows trucking companies to have customized fleet plates bearing the company logo?)

Throughout much of Pennsylvania, Florida is arguably the most common non-bordering state plate, assumably from snowbirds and expats visiting their summer homes and families in Pennsylvania–as well as those heading to upstate New York.

In rural north central and western Pennsylvania where the bulk of Marcellus Shale gas drilling takes place, Texas- and Oklahoma-plated pickup trucks are fairly common, especially in the parking lots of rural motels.

[Flint1979]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

Plus they are only 46 miles from the state lines via I-94 through Indiana.

[ilpt4u]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

Plus they are only 46 miles from the state lines via I-94 through Indiana.

My point was more that per the initial post in this thread, it has to be a non-bordering state. Michigan and Illinois share a border out on Lake Michigan. They are bordering states. The OP did not specify Land Borders

[Flint1979]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

Plus they are only 46 miles from the state lines via I-94 through Indiana.

My point was more that per the initial post in this thread, it has to be a non-bordering state. Michigan and Illinois share a border out on Lake Michigan. They are bordering states. The OP did not specify Land Borders

I was thinking the same thing. And Minnesota also shares a water border with Michigan out in Lake Superior.

[Roadgeekteen]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

Plus they are only 46 miles from the state lines via I-94 through Indiana.

My point was more that per the initial post in this thread, it has to be a non-bordering state. Michigan and Illinois share a border out on Lake Michigan. They are bordering states. The OP did not specify Land Borders

I was thinking the same thing. And Minnesota also shares a water border with Michigan out in Lake Superior.

When I see the word "border" I think of only land borders.

[RobbieL2415]

For non-rental cars, I see a lot of Florida and California.

I see even more of a variety out on the Cape: Maine, New Jersey, Quebec, Ontario, Pennsylvania come to mind

[1995hoo]

In Michigan, it's Illinois by far. The western UP might see more Minnesota plates than Illinois plates.

It is a water border via Lake Michigan, but Illinois and Michigan do share a border. They do not share a land border, tho

Plus they are only 46 miles from the state lines via I-94 through Indiana.

My point was more that per the initial post in this thread, it has to be a non-bordering state. Michigan and Illinois share a border out on Lake Michigan. They are bordering states. The OP did not specify Land Borders

Just because an OP specifies something doesn't mean it's an "absolute rule."

[bing101]

I seen some EU Looking plates which later covered up with a California DMV Plate in my area and yes my take here is to dodge the Toll cameras from Caltrans and the DMV as my guess here.

[webny99]

My point was more that per the initial post in this thread, it has to be a non-bordering state. Michigan and Illinois share a border out on Lake Michigan. They are bordering states. The OP did not specify Land Borders

I was thinking the same thing. And Minnesota also shares a water border with Michigan out in Lake Superior.

When I see the word "border" I think of only land borders.

Depends how easy it is to cross the border. If it's a river with many road crossings (like MO/IL or OH/WV) then it definitely counts. Lakes are a bit more ambiguous. If you can take a ferry direct from one state to the other, I'd say it counts as a border.

[frankenroad]

Yesterday, I made a round-trip from Cincinnati to Columbus on I-71.   I saw an extraordinary number of Texas plates, especially northbound. 

One of them was for a kids ball team - is there a major tournament somewhere that would draw all these Texans?  The Little League Hall of Fame game is usually later in the summer, but one would probably take I-71 through most of Ohio to get to Williamsport from Texas.

[andrepoiy]

In Ontario, I'd say Florida and Alberta.

[Darkchylde]

In this part of PA, I see a fair amount of Virginia plates, Florida plates, and surprisingly, DC plates.

[texaskdog]

Sadly California

[kphoger]

Sadly California

What's sad about that?

(Admittedly, the last time I was in Texas was March 20-21, which is right when California was topping the headlines with COVID cases but the middle part of the country had very few.  When we pulled into the motel parking lot in Sonora, I saw a car with California plates and grumbled, What are you doing out of your state?)

[debragga]

Sadly California

What's sad about that?

(Admittedly, the last time I was in Texas was March 20-21, which is right when California was topping the headlines with COVID cases but the middle part of the country had very few.  When we pulled into the motel parking lot in Sonora, I saw a car with California plates and grumbled, What are you doing out of your state?)

Texans, and particularly Austinites, aren't big fans of the masses of Californians moving to their state and overpaying for homes, which in turn raises the market rates.

[NWI_Irish96]

Sadly California

What's sad about that?

(Admittedly, the last time I was in Texas was March 20-21, which is right when California was topping the headlines with COVID cases but the middle part of the country had very few.  When we pulled into the motel parking lot in Sonora, I saw a car with California plates and grumbled, What are you doing out of your state?)

Texans, and particularly Austinites, aren't big fans of the masses of Californians moving to their state and overpaying for homes, which in turn raises the market rates.

I guess there are two ways of looking at it. The value of my home is rising quickly due to the large number of people fed up with Illinois taxes. A house 500 feet west of mine with the same assessed value pays 7 times as much in property taxes, along with the higher income and sales taxes.

[debragga]

Sadly California

What's sad about that?

(Admittedly, the last time I was in Texas was March 20-21, which is right when California was topping the headlines with COVID cases but the middle part of the country had very few.  When we pulled into the motel parking lot in Sonora, I saw a car with California plates and grumbled, What are you doing out of your state?)

Texans, and particularly Austinites, aren't big fans of the masses of Californians moving to their state and overpaying for homes, which in turn raises the market rates.

I guess there are two ways of looking at it. The value of my home is rising quickly due to the large number of people fed up with Illinois taxes. A house 500 feet west of mine with the same assessed value pays 7 times as much in property taxes, along with the higher income and sales taxes.

Are property taxes in Indiana frozen at the rate it was when the house was purchased. In Texas houses are reassessed every year and taxed at those rates, which leads to an increase in property taxes more often than not, especially in high-demand areas.

[NWI_Irish96]

Sadly California

What's sad about that?

(Admittedly, the last time I was in Texas was March 20-21, which is right when California was topping the headlines with COVID cases but the middle part of the country had very few.  When we pulled into the motel parking lot in Sonora, I saw a car with California plates and grumbled, What are you doing out of your state?)

Texans, and particularly Austinites, aren't big fans of the masses of Californians moving to their state and overpaying for homes, which in turn raises the market rates.

I guess there are two ways of looking at it. The value of my home is rising quickly due to the large number of people fed up with Illinois taxes. A house 500 feet west of mine with the same assessed value pays 7 times as much in property taxes, along with the higher income and sales taxes.

Are property taxes in Indiana frozen at the rate it was when the house was purchased. In Texas houses are reassessed every year and taxed at those rates, which leads to an increase in property taxes more often than not, especially in high-demand areas.

Property taxes in Indiana are capped by statute at 1% of assessed value. The assessed value can increase, and municipalities can approve rates above 1% by referendum, but in general an increase in value due to increased demand won't cause property taxes to go up a whole bunch.