Quickly shifting public preference towards SUVs in the United States have jolted the auto industry into a race to see who can produce the next big thing (so to speak) in vehicular manufacture. Foreign brands in particular are rushing to push out bigger models as U.S. preferences sharply shift towards SUVs. Consequently, sedan sales have declined, prompting many vehicle manufacturers to scale down production on smaller models in favor of their more heavy-duty counterparts. Stateside, for example, part of General Motors’ much-publicized radical restructuring can be attributed to shifting consumer preference to SUVs and trucks, resulting in the discontinuation of several sedan models.
In light of SUVs’ booming popularity—and now that holiday-season car sales events are in full swing—it begs the question as to which cities, states, and regions across the country boast the highest percentages of SUVs among all car owners. Where are SUVs most popular, and which models are currently dominating the national market? The data specialists at Insurify pursued these questions in order to rank the top 20 cities in America with the most and least SUVs as a share of all cars on the road.
Here’s what they found:
Insights
Explorers reign supreme. By a large margin, the Ford Explorer is the most popular SUV model in the U.S. Exactly half of the 50 states in the country can claim this decades-old standby as their number one most prevalent SUV on the road. Furthermore, only four states or territories have a non-domestic car model as its top SUV.
Regional patterns. In areas where Explorers can’t claim a complete monopoly, other SUV brands emerge as the most popular in curious geographic pockets. Perhaps betraying its evocatively Southeastern name, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is quite popular in New England and other Northeast states. The Chevrolet Tahoe, meanwhile, is the number one SUV of choice in a contiguous handful of states in the Deep South and Plains.
Golden State at it again. California drivers evidently prefer smaller rides. The massive coastal state claims the bottom spot on our state-by-state rankings, with only about 23 percent of all cars identified as SUVs. Furthermore, the state contains 11 of the 20 cities on our list of locales with the lowest share of SUVs.
All in the family. Given the SUV’s practicality for families of all sizes, Insurify’s data specialists analyzed if the cities with the most and least SUVs had any significant difference between their share of homes designated as family households. However, they found no statistical correlation between SUV ownership and family household prevalence, suggesting that the SUV boom is not merely a family-based phenomenon.
US Cities with the Most SUVs
1. Denver, Colorado - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 30.1%
2. Katy, Texas - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 29.9%
3. Aurora, Colorado - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 29.5%
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.9%
5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.7%
6. Lexington, South Carolina - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.2%
7. Alpharetta, Georgia - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.9%
8. Naples, Florida - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.6%
9. Chicago, Illinois - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.6%
10. Acworth, Georgia - Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.5%
Methodology
The data specialists at Insurify, a platform for customers to compare auto insurance rates, compiled data from its database of over 1.5 million car insurance applications, which ask questions about driving history, vehicle type, and other personal data. From this data, they were able to determine the 20 cities with the highest and lowest percentages of SUVs (as opposed to non-SUVs, mostly designated as sedans) as a share of all cars reported in that city. To improve the results, the final lists were filtered to include only cities with a minimum of 1,500 applications. The data specialists performed the same analysis on a state level for all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. For both geographic analyses, they also determined the most popular SUV (make and model) for each location. Data on the percentage of family households (as a share of all households) for cities was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
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13. North Charleston, South Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 26.8%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:57.7% of all households
12. Cumming, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.2%
Most popular SUV:Chevrolet Equinox
Family households:55.4% of all households
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11. Reno, Nevada
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.3%
Most popular SUV:Jeep Grand Cherokee
Family households:54.6% of all households
10. Acworth, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.5%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:64.8% of all households
9. Chicago, Illinois
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.6%
Most popular SUV:Ford Escape
Family households:53.9% of all households
8. Naples, Florida
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.6%
Most popular SUV:Honda CR-V
Family households:59.3% of all households
7. Alpharetta, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 27.9%
Most popular SUV:Honda CR-V
Family households:71.9% of all households
6. Lexington, South Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.2%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:65.3% of all households
5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.7%
Most popular SUV:Ford Escape
Family households:55.5% of all households
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 28.9%
Most popular SUV:Jeep Grand Cherokee
Family households:63.9% of all households
3. Aurora, Colorado
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 29.5%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:65.8% of all households
2. Katy, Texas
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 29.9%
Most popular SUV:Ford Escape
Family households:75.6% of all households
1. Denver, Colorado
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 30.1%
Most popular SUV:Jeep Grand Cherokee
Family households:48.6% of all households
Cities with the Least SUVs
20. Athens, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.6%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 47.6% of all households
19. Atlanta, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.6%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 42.4% of all households
18. Long Beach, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.5%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 60.3% of all households
17. San Jose, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.5%
Most popular SUV: Honda CR-V
Family households: 73.3% of all households
16. Pompano Beach, Florida
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.4%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 55.5% of all households
15. Jonesboro, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.3%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 61.2% of all households
14. Norcross, Georgia
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.3%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 68.4% of all households
13. Charlotte, North Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.2%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 59.6% of all households
12. Oakland, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 20.2%
Most popular SUV: Honda CR-V
Family households: 55.3% of all households
11. Raleigh, North Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.8%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 55.9% of all households
10. Bakersfield, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.6%
Most popular SUV: Ford Explorer
Family households: 74.4% of all households
9. Sacramento, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.6%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:58.9% of all households
8. Arlington, Texas
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.5%
Most popular SUV:Ford Escape
Family households:68.7% of all households
7. Fresno, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.2%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:69.4% of all households
6. Fayetteville, North Carolina
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.1%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:60.7% of all households
5. San Diego, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.1%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:60.4% of all households
4. Los Angeles, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 19.1%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:59.9% of all households
3. Glendale, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 18.5%
Most popular SUV:Toyota Rav4
Family households:69.0% of all households
2. Stockton, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 17.8%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:71.6% of all households
1. Riverside, California
Percent of drivers with SUVs: 15.9%
Most popular SUV:Ford Explorer
Family households:73.2% of all households
Updated May 13, 2021
Insurify Insights
Insurify’s team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. Through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.
