These Are the Most Popular Vehicles for Each Generation (2021)

Chase Gardner
Written byChase Gardner
Headshot of Chase Gardner
Chase GardnerData Insights Manager
  • Data expert on auto trends and driver behavior

  • University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree

Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.

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Tanveen Vohra
Edited byTanveen Vohra
Tanveen Vohra
Tanveen VohraManager of Content and Communications
  • Property and casualty insurance specialist

  • 4+ years creating insurance content

Tanveen manages Insurify's data insights, annual home and auto insurance reports, and media communications. She’s regularly featured in media interviews on insurance topics.

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Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.

Published March 19, 2022 at 12:00 PM PDT

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From Zoomers to Boomers, these are the most popular cars for each generation of drivers in 2021.

Each generation has its own unique and defining experiences, characteristics, and consumer preferences. Whether it’s a debate of the side vs. center part on TikTok or the proper amount to tip at a restaurant, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers have all formed their distinct opinions about the world.

These generational divides can even hold true for vehicular preferences. Despite the varying values and top priorities, each generation holds for their car models of choice — not to mention the ever-evolving market — there are certain factors that make specific cars an optimal choice for a wide range of consumers. Certain cars are stand-out stars for more than one generation, appealing to drivers from all walks of life. To see how car preferences differ and overlap between different generations of American drivers, the data scientists at Insurify crunched the numbers to identify the most popular vehicles for Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z drivers.

A bar graph showing the 2 most popular car models driven by each generation in 2021.

Insights

  • National averages. According to Insurify’s 2021 Insight on the Most Popular Cars in America, the Ford F-Series Pickup is the most commonly owned vehicle in the United States. The average MSRP for a new car is $41,044 as of July 2021, according to recent data from JD Power’s Automotive Forecast.

  • Less expensive models are popular across the board. The most popular vehicles across all generations, perhaps unsurprisingly, are all models with a reliable reputation and a practical price tag. All of the models in the rankings have an MSRP that’s lower than the national average of a new car on the market in 2021.

  • Tried and true. It’s clear that the average American driver gravitates towards vehicles that have stood the test of time as long-standing examples of safety, durability, and reliability. There’s some consistency between the models across multiple generations, particularly between Gen Z and Millennials and between Gen X and Baby Boomers, which goes to show that while generations may have different specific car preferences, certain models can transcend those preferences with their widespread appeal.

Methodology

The research team at Insurify, a site to compare auto insurance quotes, referred to their database of over 4 million car insurance applications to identify the most popular vehicle for each generation. When submitting applications for car insurance, drivers provide information including their age and the make and model of their vehicle.

Insurify’s data scientists looked at age subsets for each driver generation (Gen Z includes drivers between ages 15 and 24; Millennials include drivers between ages 25 and 41; Gen X includes drivers between ages 42 and 56; Baby Boomers include drivers between ages 57 and 77) and calculated the share of drivers per car model. The top two car models with the highest share of owners were identified as the most popular vehicles for each generation. Base price and mileage for each vehicle were derived from the manufacturer’s website and reflect the most recent vehicle model on the market.

Most Popular Cars for Millennials

In 2021, the most popular car for millennials is the Honda Accord: 3.13% of millennials drive Accords, the highest share for any one model. Honda Accords are also the most popular cars for Gen Z, while the Ford F-Series Pickup is the vehicle of choice for Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Chase Gardner
Chase GardnerData Insights Manager

Chase Gardner leads data research at Insurify. He informs readers on major developments in the auto and home industries through analysis of driver behavior, homeownership tendencies, cost of living trends, and more. He received a bachelor’s degree with concentrations in Environmental & Urban Studies and Statistics from the University of Chicago. Chase’s work has been cited in CNBC, MSN, Axios, The Street, and dozens of local news outlets across the country.

Tanveen Vohra
Edited byTanveen VohraManager of Content and Communications
Tanveen Vohra
Tanveen VohraManager of Content and Communications
  • Property and casualty insurance specialist

  • 4+ years creating insurance content

Tanveen manages Insurify's data insights, annual home and auto insurance reports, and media communications. She’s regularly featured in media interviews on insurance topics.

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Konstantin Halachev
Reviewed byKonstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.