America hums along, and so too do these License Plate Power Rankings. We’ve covered five regions so far, offering commentary on the plates of thirty states and one district. Twenty states remain, and we take a close look at seven of those today.
Here are the regions we’ve covered so far:
New England
The Mid-East States
The Southeast
The South
The Great Lakes
The Mountain West
The West Coast
And here we go with today’s:
7. Oklahoma
Before we address Oklahoma’s license plate, I should note that we made the tough decision to exclude license plates issued by Native American tribes from these power rankings. There are simply so many of them that it would be hard to give them their appropriate due without overwhelming the rankings. They are important, though, and prevalent (especially in Oklahoma), so please do not forget they exist, and if you like license plates, keep an eye out for them.
Now, Oklahoma’s license plate: not very good. I do not think of the color blue when I think of Oklahoma, and I certainly don’t think of whatever that bird is they’ve got silhouetted over the whole thing. As usual, the tourism website link is unnecessary and poor, and adding the word “Explore” to a state’s license plate makes exactly nobody more likely to explore that state.
Next.
6. Kansas
Kansas used to have a great license plate, featuring a single stalk of wheat.
Now, they have this. And this is boring.
I mean, goodness gracious, Kansas. Falling asleep at the wheel is already a big risk even without you putting this hypnotically plain piece of aluminum on the back of every pickup truck on I-70.
They do deserve credit for choosing the faint blue that’s a staple of the prairie sky, but they left out the prairie. And the wheat.
Come on.
5. Iowa
Iowa’s got a decent license plate. It’s unconventional. It gives the prairie some love. It’s got the state’s entire skyline across the top.
But trying to give Des Moines equal billing with the rest of the state is a fool’s errand.
Don’t get me wrong—I love Des Moines. It’s a great little city. But it’s not the image of Iowa. The image of Iowa is a family working hard to feed the nation by day and caucusing by night, with a trip to Des Moines thrown in once a year to see an Iowa Cubs game and catch a peek of the state capital (which is a neat one, by the way, and would look good on a license plate but only as one of one or two things on it).
Iowa had the choice to steer into a few motifs here. They instead skimmed the surface of too many. A poor decision.
4. Nebraska
Nebraska’s license plate isn’t special, but you don’t see the blue/gold color scheme often enough (as we discussed with regard to West Virginia a few days ago), and perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t try too hard.
It’s got one of the plainest fonts, which fits the plate perfectly. It’s got The Sower, faintly there in the background reminding everyone what the state’s about. It’s tasteful and easy-going and just an all-around good-enough plate.
Overall, a good reminder that sometimes subtlety can go a long way in the license plate game.
3. Missouri
In the vein of The Sower, Missouri hid two bears on their latest license plate.
Can you find them?
There are two faintly drawn bears there in the state seal, standing on their hind legs and holding up the smaller seal inside the real seal.
Even beyond sneaky bears, Missouri’s new license plate is a thrilling improvement from the old ones. The red and blue trim on the white background is patriotic and classy, and the whole thing unifies well with the state flag. It’s also a few years early for the state’s bicentennial, which is fun because if there’s one thing I want to look forward to for the next 17 months, it’s the dawn of Missouri’s bicentennial.
Mark your calendars.
2. South Dakota
I’ll admit, the Dakotas ran away with this region. They obliterated every other Plains state, turning the region into a two-state race. Thank goodness they’re separate states, because we get two elite license plates out of the deal.
South Dakota’s is blunt and to the point. It doesn’t need a tourism website url. It doesn’t need much of anything, in fact. It’s got Mount Rushmore, it’s got its own name written in a bold font (bold emotionally, not in terms of typeface), and it’s got a power phrase with “Great Faces. Great Places.”
A titan of a plate.
1. North Dakota
South Dakota’s plate’s majesty is rivaled only by that of its northern sibling. North Dakota’s doesn’t have one specific landmark upon which to rely, choosing instead to paint just about the most awe-inspiring landscape you’ve ever seen onto a 48-square-inch tag.
The bison. The sunrise (sunset?). The badlands. And that’s before you even get to the dual ears of wheat, the self-designation as “legendary,” and the final flourish down there in the lower-left-hand corner: the Peace Garden State.
What a state.
What a plate.
Oklahoma License Plate Image taken from KOCO News.
Kansas License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s labeled Public Domain.
Iowa License Plate Image taken from The Daily Iowan.
Nebraska License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to Ryansmith64.
Missouri License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to The State Historical Society of Missouri.
South Dakota License Plate Image taken from South Dakota State News.
North Dakota License Plate Image taken from the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
