Every State License Plate, Ranked

Three years ago, we ranked the license plates. Today, we’re going to rank the license plates again. Because some of them have changed. And so have our feelings, over years of reflection.

How do we rank these? Well, with our hearts, mostly. We’ve been thinking about license plates for more than three years now (we were thinking about them for a while before we ranked them the first time—you don’t just rank every state license plate on a whim; this stuff requires contemplation, guys), and we’ve also been pulsing the public, twice conducting a large-scale bracket contesting every state plate against the rest. We’ve discussed license plates. We’ve argued about license plates. We’ve wrestled with our inner prejudices concerning license plates. In the end, this is how we see them stacking up. It’s our opinion, yes, but I’d say it’s not just that. I’d say it’s our expert opinion.

We figure out which plate is the primary plate in every state by scrubbing Wikipedia, DMV websites, and local news bulletins. In states with multiple standard plates, we label one primary based on design longevity and things of that nature. If you’re curious, you can dig through our reasoning in those image credit links below. We explain each multi-plate-state decision in there.

All plates are the newest standard ones for their state as of June 2022, including Rhode Island’s, which isn’t on the roads as I write this but may be on the roads by the time you read it.

Now, finally, every state (and district) license plate, ranked:

Image credits can be found here, here, here, and here.

51. Nebraska

This is a terrible license plate, and to make things worse, the old one was better. I’m not saying the person who designed this is a bad person or anything—we all try different creative things now and then—but I am saying that those who chose this as the best new option will one day have to answer to God.

50. Maryland

With that flag and those crabs and the Baltimore harbor and two great state nicknames (“The Old Line State” and “The Free State”), Maryland could do so much. Instead, they did this.

49. Michigan

It’s time for a refresh, Michigan.

The first time I heard Tim Allen crooning through the family minivan speakers about lakes and golf and summer nights, on one of those “Pure Michigan” ads, I liked it. Now, though? It’s gotten old. And the M looks like it came out of a tube of toothpaste.

48. Illinois

A hazy, looming silhouette of Lincoln standing in front of Chicago while the Springfield skyline, evidently of equal height to that of America’s second city, stands opposite him? This license plate does not make sense.

47. Missouri

You know how sometimes one of your friends won’t like that their birthday falls on a Tuesday, so they’ll make a big deal about how the whole week is their “birthday week,” and even try to do things on both weekends to celebrate it? Missouri’s doing that with its bicentennial. They rolled this out in 2018. It’s 2022 now. A bicentennial lasts one year, maximum.

46. Iowa

Somebody needs to tell Iowa that, for as lovely as Des Moines is, nobody thinks of a cityscape when they think of Iowa. Des Moines is the last part of Iowa anyone thinks about, especially because since few have been to Des Moines, they imagine it to be a lot more like Cedar Falls, so they’ve effectively thought of Cedar Falls before they thought of Des Moines.

45. Alabama

Again, cool beach Alabama, but people don’t think of cool beaches when they think of Alabama. If beaches come to mind at all, they’re the kind of beaches where folks go to get blackout drunk. Also, is it just me, or are they slowly making the Heart of Dixie emblem smaller on these? Is it inconvenient, but are they afraid to get rid of it because somebody might get mad?

44. Oklahoma

This is not as good as what Oklahoma could produce, but at least it pops and at least they got the “EXPLORE” off the top. Tourism marketing on license plates is a mixed bag.

43. New Jersey

A fun fact about New Jersey’s license plate is that in License Plate Bracket I, it was the only plate to not receive a single vote, something that’s never happened in any of our other dozens of brackets about inconsequential things. It got a few votes in License Plate Bracket II, but people really do not like New Jersey, and this plate does not sway them from their stance.

As for me? It’s distinctive, I like that they use the state outline as the separator, I wish they hadn’t chosen the color of the waste fluid so many people associate with them, but maybe they were steering into that theme?

42. Washington, D.C.

I know, I know. It’s messed up that D.C. residents don’t have voting congressional representation. But, I don’t know, move somewhere that does? If it really matters to you, you’ve got tons of cheaper places a few miles away. And don’t say this is a plate championing those who don’t have the resources to move. That’s a very D.C. thing to say, and they’re not the ones you guys let design your license plate.

41. Massachusetts

Been around a long time; pompous; red, white, and blue. It’s Massachusetts, baby.

40. Mississippi

Mississippi is saved by its S’s. But so many predecessors to this plate have also had the S’s and have been a lot better than this, which looks like prison.

39. Ohio

This got made fun of when it debuted, and not just because the plane was initially backwards. (What kind of nerd knows which way the Wright Brothers’ plane pointed, anyway?) It got blasted because it has too much going on, it doesn’t look serious, etc. To which I say, you try making a license plate for Ohio. Could they do better? Yes. But they’re trying, and it’s not like they’ve got a ton to work with.

38. Kansas

This is an oversimplification, but in much of Kansas, there are two things: Wheat and Sky. I’m not opposed to making the license plate look like one of those two things. Especially not the one of those things that doesn’t look like New Jersey’s plate. Also, strong font.

37. Kentucky

Kentucky’s in a phase of trying to simplify its license plate, which was once horse-themed and busy. They haven’t gotten to the phase where it’s simple enough to be a good plate, though. It’s now just kind of…there.

I do like that they let you mock up custom plates on their website, though. And that they still enforce the rules while you do it. That’s a fun feature.

36. Tennessee

Good recovery from Tennessee, who used to have a terrible license plate. There’s a lot going on here, still—the tourism website url is rough, they got rather busy putting both the state nickname and “In God We Trust” on there, they made both hard to read—but the state outline around the state name was a good idea, and really, we’re just glad they got rid of the old one, which made the Smokies seem depressing.

35. Minnesota

It’s a fine plate. We’re into the fine plates now. It looks extremely suburban, and it only vaguely calls to mind ice-fishing, but both of those things are spot on for Minnesota anyway. With Wisconsin, you think of ice-fishing more quickly. The Mall of America doesn’t get in the way.

34. Connecticut

Clean, crisp, has that nice fade, shows the state outline in case anyone wondered what Connecticut was shaped like (note to self: go look up why Connecticut has a toe sometime). This is the example for states looking to have a license plate but unsure how to have one that captures their essence and doesn’t make people sad.

33. Nevada

It is a great font, and the artistic take on the Sierra Nevada could have worked well. But. It didn’t work well, “Home Means Nevada” is an inaccurate translation and reads like something you’d find in the Live Laugh Love aisle at HomeGoods, and it all sells Nevada short, because Nevada is cool. Great big desert, a glamorous city designed for partying, and a tumbleweed-strewn city designed for wondering how you got there (I love Reno so much). That’s a lot to use in a license plate. Instead, we got a Henderson art teacher’s take on the state.

32. Georgia

This, like the next one, is a good concept but is kind of hard to actually see, especially on the back of a moving vehicle. You don’t want to cause people to tailgate your drivers on the interstate so that they can shout to their kids in the backseat, “It says, ‘Peach State,’ Gerald!”

31. New Hampshire

“Live Free or Die” is great, the Old Man in the Mountain was cool until erosion chopped off his nose, and the idea of making the words “New Hampshire” look like a mountain was a nice thought. But it just doesn’t click.

30. South Carolina

There’s history to “While I Breathe, I Hope,” but boy, if there wasn’t? We’re going back to HomeGoods, folks.

The Palmetto Moon is possibly the best state symbol in the country, but again…it just doesn’t quite land here. I feel like there’s something else they can do.

29. Arkansas

Amazing font. The hogtail is one of a kind. Also, no hate for pointing out that your state has diamonds. Could you do better? Yes, your old ones were better. But the font does a lot of work here.

28. Utah

Utah is a state with two standard license plates, and our guess is that this is slightly more common because it’s been around in its current form for longer than the alternative. Delicate Arch is sweet. “Life Elevated,” though? And why can’t you just stick to one plate?

27. Louisiana

As with Utah’s, Louisiana takes a good thing and lands a little flat, and the font still looks like that on the chest of an 11U travel baseball team, but it’s not a bad plate. Remove “Sportsman’s Paradise” and you could actively call it a good plate.

26. Maine

Ok, we’ve gotten to the good plates, and we’ve also gotten to the median of this list, which says a lot about where we’re at. I have questions about the Maine license plate, but chickadees are cool, and they certainly didn’t whiff on this. They took a shot, it kind of landed, and in typical Maine fashion they’ve now stuck with it for a long time.

25. Montana

Montana could do better. But at the same time, they have a cool divider emblem in there, and they opted for simplicity, which a lot of states would benefit from doing (Nebraska: If you just made your plate entirely plain with the word NEBRASKA at the top, I would like it). Solid work from Montana, especially because I’m assuming it’s cost prohibitive to cut the plate into the shape of the state outline, which is my second-best idea behind putting a shark tank beneath the rink in San José.

24. California

California’s license plate is iconic (because it belongs to California, but still), and in a state where a lot’s happening, they don’t try to do too much. Also, sporting the DMV website rather than the tourism website is 1) a power move and 2) a great representation of a society known for its bureaucracy.

23. Virginia

I’ve come around on Virginia. I’m still pissed about the misdemeanor charge (Reckless driving? More like reckless law-having), but this is a clean, crisp plate, it has a good font at the top, and the “Virginia Is For Lovers” thing is a good reminder that if you say anything enough and it isn’t entirely wrong, people will gradually come around to it.

22. Florida

This is a great license plate, and I’m not entirely confident I can articulate why. The “SUNSHINE STATE” at the bottom looks phenomenally old school, the MyFLORIDA.com at the top feels like something from 2003, which is exactly when it was issued, and Florida’s ability to stick to the message of “We have oranges” despite so much else going on down there is impressive. Also, good use of the state outline as a backdrop. Florida’s got a good-looking state outline.

21. Texas

Strong font, clean and stark, got the lone star, uses the state outline as the divider. This checks a lot of boxes.

20. South Dakota

When you’re South Dakota, the question—after you decide to eschew the Badlands—is not whether to use Mount Rushmore so much as how to use Mount Rushmore. They do a fine job here, and while it could be better, they also didn’t turn it into a cartoon of Mount Rushmore, which is what Illinois would have done.

19. Pennsylvania

This plate feels like it’s been around forever, but it hasn’t been, and I think that’s a good testament to it. Even if the state outline up top looks like an empty battery.

18. Indiana

Indiana’s license plate gets a lot of, “Ok, what is going on here?”

I understand that, but at the same time, what’s everyone’s favorite thing about Indiana? Parks and Recreation, right? And does this not look like it was designed by the good people of Pawnee? There’s even a recycling logo on it.

17. Arizona

From this point on, this list is a lot like the last half of an Elton John concert. Every single plate/song gets a huge reaction, and that reaction is overwhelmingly positive. Somehow, every item from here on out is even more exhilarating than the last.

But yeah, great plate. You’ve gotta lean hard on the sunset if you’re Arizona. Arizona has made something larger than earth—the sun, specifically the sun when it is setting—its own.

16. Hawaii

Delightful.

15. Oregon

I’m a little confused why Oregon and Washington aren’t the same state, but I’m glad we have both. Just a pair of siblings up there, doing their thing. Oregon makes whimsy artsy here, while keeping it approachable. Round of applause.

14. Washington

Washington leans a little wilder. This looks great with some dust on it. But isn’t that something we need more of? A little bit of Mount Rainier in our life?

13. West Virginia

People love to hate on West Virginia because people are often insecure, and looking down on others is a way to briefly make oneself feel better about oneself. This is a great license plate. Clear but not boring, with some pleasing color contrasts, a simple theme, and a soft endorsement of the plate’s home.

12. Rhode Island

New plate here, and I liked the old one but I like this one too. They made the cursive easy to read. The anchor stands out. You can tell those are waves, which sounds like a given, but we’ve seen other plates where it’s hard to tell what’s going on, and a wave isn’t exactly, I don’t know, a giraffe. It’s not that distinctive of a shape.

11. New York

I may be underselling this one, but I’m afraid the newness factor (this is a couple years old) still has me cautious that I’m overreacting. The old plate was mighty. This is still mighty, but also a little refined? You can tell from a distance that you’re dealing with Niagara Falls and New York Harbor. Those are two great things to have in your state. They stood confident with “Excelsior,” but they didn’t try to overcompensate for any skepticism, threading the needle between meekness and overcompensation. They, like many others, used their outline for the divider. And the font’s good! And it has a contiguous color scheme! And those lines at the top, hey, those are a nice touch. Well done, New York.

10. North Dakota

There’s something about that bison peering out at you, and a key thing about this plate is that the details add to it when you look up close, but from a distance they don’t distract. You still get a good sunset vibe.

9. Delaware

A lot can and should be said about going full-on simple with your license plate. The way they all started. If you don’t have a slam dunk idea, just do this, everybody. Delaware does it well, with the quiet allusion up top to their capability of rapid ratification.

8. Vermont

This edges Delaware only because it’s more iconic. More people know the Vermont plate than know the Delaware plate. The green is distinctive. I don’t know exactly how to describe Delaware’s color, though I do like it.

7. Wisconsin

When you’re undisputedly a good state but you aren’t an exciting state, it’s easy to get lost in the sauce. Wisconsin didn’t do that. They also didn’t back down from the dairy thing, and they coordinated the color scheme with the state’s flagship institution, and they did the same thing North Dakota did with the little details, where they don’t distract from afar but they add something up close.

6. Colorado

They started with an aggressive concept: a mountain skyline. When the time came for execution, they then did everything as simple as possible. Except. Except for that shading, which they hit out of the park. High risk, high reward. Could’ve looked blobby but instead it’s one of the most recognizable plates in the nation.

5. North Carolina

It does look a little weird to see this on a sparkling new car, but that’s not the plate’s fault. You have to choose your car to highlight your plate, guys. Those are the rules. Everyone in North Carolina should drive an old beat-up Subaru or pickup truck.

Anyway, North Carolina’s plate is a force. It looks like a misty day in the forest, or on the coast. It’s strong, it’s richly colored but still wistful, it’s a little hard to read but you don’t need to read it all at once. Just sit with this one, and feel comforted. Feel, though you may be from as far away as Illinois, strangely at home.

4. New Mexico

New Mexico rocks because they had this great license plate and they then added a second standard plate and it’s turquoise and it also rocks. But that doesn’t factor in here. This is about this plate, which is striking and invigorating and makes New Mexico feel like the coolest place in the world. Also, the theme continuity between this and the flag—each relies on the Zia sun, though this is a take more tailored to a license plate—is a bonus. Stick to the message.

3. Alaska

This license plate is ready for the wilderness. This license plate could get beat up and bent and banged and still slap. You take Arizona’s plate up to Alaska, it’s coming back looking sad. You take this plate out into the frontier (the last one, as it makes a point to mention), and it’s coming back looking triumphant.

2. Idaho

Oh, man. I love this plate. It’s not the best plate—that’s why it’s ranked second—but it’s my favorite.

What I think happened with Idaho is that at a bunch of stages in the design process, someone on the committee suggested something new, and every single time, it worked out ridiculously well. The unique color at the top. The mountain/forest horizon. “Famous Potatoes.” That hilarious incidental “Scenic” which doesn’t have an exclamation point but feels like it has an exclamation point. This plate is a party.

1. Wyoming

And at last: The best license plate. The champion of License Plate Brackets I and II. The plate with a cowboy for its divider. The plate that looks like a postcard from the olden days.

Two things to call out here: One is, of course, the rope border, which is audacious. But the other is how good they made that color look inside the dark outline in the lettering up top. Original, yet not out-there. And, as all license plates should (unless they’re doing the Delaware thing and being beautifully simple), it captures the best of the state. A license plate for all seasons. A license plate for all kinds.