I've been in the DMV business for some time now.  And for years, journalists have called me asking about the number of vanity plates in each state across the nation.  And until this week, I always had to reply with a disheartened, "I don't know."  But I always felt I should be able to answer that question.

This week, I did. 

And in case you missed all the news, it's official, over 9.3 million vehicles in the U.S and over 400,000 vehicles in Canada are "vanitized."   

Virginia has the highest percentage of vanity plates on the roads.  While Illinois has the highest total number of vanity plates on the roads.

Now think about this for a moment. 

DMVs have very limited budgets for marketing.  So when you consider drivers across North America bought a total of 9.7 million vanity plates---a product which was not heavily marketed to them, that sounds like a cultural phenomenon.  And this could very well be the grandfather to text messaging.

Please note, AAMVA didn't survey the jurisdictions alone.  Stefan Lonce, author of the forthcoming book, LCNS2ROM:  Vanity License Plates And The Stories They Tell, worked collaboratively with the association to survey all states in the U.S and all Canadian provinces.

And if you have a vanity plate story to share, Lonce would love to hear from you.  You can share your vanity plate story at www.lcns2rom.com.

Until next time, stay safe behind the wheel.

Jason D. King
VP, Public Relations & Information Services
AAMVA
jking@aamva.org