SUV Ownership in America: Where Bigger is Better (2018)

Published on March 24, 2022
Published on March 24, 2022
SUVs are having a moment.
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:
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%
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 .
Compare auto insurance quotes today with Insurify’s top-ranked comparison sites.
Check out the best deals for car insurance for Uber drivers.
Wondering which insurers are the best auto insurance companies of the year? Check out our official rankings.
Give us just a minute, and our car insurance calculator will give you a quick and easy quote.
Auto insurance rates too expensive? Our low income car insurance guide is the first step on your savings journey.
Online comparison shopping for home quotes doesn’t have to be a hassle – check out the home insurance comparison tool for the best home insurance deals.
The information, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are free to use, we just ask that you attribute any full or partial use to Insurify with a link to this page. Thank you!