U.S. License Plates Ranked

Rating/Ranking: US States/Design

A map I saw in Jackson, Wyoming

Last fall we drove to Moab, UT and Jackson WY within a couple weeks of each other. Both were outdoors-oriented trips where we saw license plates from all over the country. I was comparing them to each other, thought about this blog thing I was planning on writing, and decided to rank every state. It's very exciting.

Here are my rankings from top to bottom. Do you agree or disagree with where I put them? Remember, this is 100% my opinion and not authoritative at all. I don't know a ton about design and would love to hear any new insights. I'm working with this list and mostly using the current official designs so let me know if you want to compare a different plate.

#1 New Mexico

All of the New Mexico plates I've seen are just *chef's kiss*

This might be my least favorite of the three I'm going to post on here, yet it has so much character with minimal design. Some of the plates (like this one) feature the Zia sun symbol, which I learned about when I visited Albuquerque a few years ago. To quote straight from Wikipedia: "The symbol has sacred meaning to the Zia people. Four is a sacred number which symbolizes the Circle of Life: the four directions, the four times of day, the four stages of life, and the four seasons."

Beautiful colors, Zia Sun shining as the centerpiece.

I've seen this one a lot recently. I'm jealous every time.

#2 Maine

The Chickadee is cute and the overall design looks nice. Attractive fonts. Artwork and simplicity at the same time.

#3 Kansas

The current Kansas plate is elegant and straightforward. It has the state seal and a pretty shade of sky blue in the background.

#4 Texas

IMO the best of the "plainer" designs. Texas benefits from having an interesting state shape. You can't put the Colorado shape in the middle of their plate.

Previous designs are more chaotic but still good in my opinion, featuring space shuttles, oil fields, and cowboys.

#5 Arizona

Beautiful work, Arizona.

#6 Idaho

The overall look is fairly neat and organized. I like the forest and fonts. The mountains are more defined than those in other plates. I have to be at least somewhat objective with Idaho, I've lived in Utah long enough to feel a rivalry but I think Potatoland wins the matchup.

#7 Nevada

Beautiful colors on the mountains. I like the overall look.

#8 Oregon

Oregon's plate has seen minimal changes for thirty years. Why change greatness?

#9 Florida

The oranges are a fun design. The colors are simple and good. The website doesn't dominate too much.

#10 New Jersey

This is a better version of the New York plate. Points for not being red, white, or blue; but the yellow is not the best. Super clear to read.

#11 Missouri

Another simple but elegant plate. I like the waves on top and bottom. Have come to appreciate the state seal after working on the USS Missouri.

#12 Utah

This is where I expect to get the most reaction. There are three plates fairly equally used in Utah: The "Greatest Snow," Delicate Arch, and "In God We Trust." My ranking for Utah is the combination of the three together. My preferred design is Delicate Arch by far.

Better than the older "Ski Utah!" plate. I love the petroglyphs along the top. As someone who doesn't like winter in any way and doesn't participate in snow sports, it's not a plate I would choose.

Delicate Arch. This is a top 5 design to me. You get a great taste of the Southwest and something unique to Utah/the Four Corners. The colors are gorgeous.

NO OFFENSE, if you have this plate− some of my family does− but the worst drivers I see on the road all have it! As far as design goes, there is very little.

#13 Louisiana

Pelican at sunrise. It's a pretty picture. The state name font looks cool too. The pelican is a traditional symbol of Louisiana and one of the best team names in the NBA, fight me.

#14 Rhode Island

Attractive and not complicated. Many of the states at the bottom should take notes.

#15 Mississippi

The guitar looks awesome. The Mississippi swooping S's are alright. A newer plate design has the state seal and a gold background.

#16 South Carolina

The palmetto and crescent is a great image. The font of the motto at the top is not ideal, otherwise this would be ranked a bit higher.

#17 West Virginia

This is all a license plate really needs. The state, some colors, a simple design, and a slogan.

#18 Colorado

The colors are nice and the mountain silhouette adds to the design without detracting but the fonts don't look as attractive as other states.

#19 Hawaii

State name, nickname, and a meaningful symbol. This license plate looks good on any vehicle. The alternative volcano plates are both amazing.

#20 Alabama

Normally this would be ranked higher because it's not bad. The insistence on including "Heart of Dixie" somewhere is cringey.

#21 Wyoming

Wyoming has been doing scenic backgrounds. The cowboy silhouette is a winner. The yellow font is less appealing.

#22 New Hampshire

The contrast of the sky with the Old Man of the Mountain works well.

#23 Minnesota

The more I look at this one, the more I like it. The forest in the corner, nice shade of blue, easy to read. But it's a bit busy.

#24 Ohio

I appreciate what Ohio is doing by incorporating multiple state slogans in the background. Also, is there a subtle rivalry between Ohio with the "Birthplace of Aviation" slogan and North Carolina with "First in Flight" ?

#25 Pennsylvania

I like how the plate is framed. A state symbol is placed between the first and second fields, state shape doesn't dominate, clear to read.

#26 Vermont

This is one I don't believe I've seen in person. Very old-school.

#27 Maryland

I like the flag of Lord Baltimore. Lowkey feels like a racing flag. Next time I want some terrapins somewhere on there.

#28 California

The cursive state name looks cool but the rest is pretty boring. Having the DMV website makes sense in a state with so many people.

#29 Tennessee

At first glance it's not a bad design. But all of the little text makes it look messy.

#30 Arkansas

Somewhat bland. Wouldn't most of the design fade under a layer of dirt?

#31 Washington

Why overcomplicate things I guess?

#32 North Carolina

No strong opinions about this one.

#33 Illinois

Not a fan of the font, the color choices are boring. Abraham Lincoln is great and it looks like the Chicago skyline in the background? There are smart choices in the design yet the overall effect is not gorgeous.

#34 Wisconsin

Cows.

#35 North Dakota

Ah, yes, the legendary state of North Dakota.

#36 Nebraska

Not bad, not great.

#37 Iowa

It's the Illinois plate but with more grass and without Lincoln. It fits the state of Iowa.

#38 Oklahoma

Imagine trying to read these letters from a distance. This is disappointing, because the previous design with an archer was one of my favorites. Assuming the bird is a sacred native symbol, I won't compare it to the Twitter logo.

#39 Georgia

None of the design elements are necessarily bad on their own, but all together the plate looks busy to me. Is it just me or is something wrong with the tree? If I was given control over the next edition, I would take away everything except "Georgia," the colors, the peach in the bottom right corner, and maybe the hills. What do you think?

#40 South Dakota

The colors are actually attractive. The slogan is cringey. I already don't care much for Mt. Rushmore, but it's mostly covered here and looks like it has eroded for centuries.

#41 Massachusetts

I love Massachusetts but this plate is not amazing. Fun fact: Syd and I saw one at Moab that said "MASSHOLE." For those who don't know, that is a common nickname for a lot of people living in Mass. I wonder how many people tried to get that customization!

#42 Delaware

Doesn't get more boring than this...

#43 Virginia

...But wait, it does.

#44 Connecticut

The blue gradient with small, emaciated letters makes this plate highly underwhelming. They insist on including the state shape even though it's just a square with a tail.

#45 Alaska

They almost made it to their state number. The flag artwork is from the 60's, so they've kept with tradition. Alaska does have another flag with a bear that would probably make the top 5.

#46 New York

It's supposed to be gold but is more of a gold-mustard. Now envision this on yellow taxis.

#47 Kentucky

The Connecticut design flipped upside-down with a weaker blue. Unbridled design.

#48 Indiana

There is another current license plate with a covered bridge on it but I have yet to see it. I've only noticed this plate, which while patriotic, is kind of lame. I don't know if any professionals were involved with its development.

#49 Michigan

It's hard to read the letters on the plate. I don't like the "M" design in "Michigan." The color of blue is probably meant to symbolize all the water up in Michigan I guess. How is Flint doing? Not only boring but also ugly.

#50 Montana

The first plate I'm showcasing is their best design. You have to see the other ones to understand why I'm placing Montana at the very bottom. They seem to insist on including the shape of Montana, which I personally don't find very aesthetically pleasing; terrible color combinations, and strange fonts. One design aspect I do like is the cow skull between the first and second values of the plate. But why does Montana have one or two digits first and then like seven after? Seems way harder to remember...

Not too bad.

I don't know where to look. The design is distracting and confusing, like they had a design contest and then chose to incorporate multiple entries at once.

The "Montana" font looks really cheesy. Apparently they wanted the shape of the state but then cut off its bottom corner? The colors don't work together for me.

Now imagine this plate on a vehicle of any color.

Ranking the License Plates of the 50 States