(iSeeCars) – When it comes to the most popular car colors, the answer is black or white according to a recent analysis by iSeeCars.com.
The study examined over 9.4 million cars on the road to determine the share for each color. White narrowly edged black as the nation’s most popular color by less than one percentage point.
Here are America’s most popular car colors:
Most Popular Car Colors – iSeeCars Study
Rank
Color
% Share
1
White
23.9%
2
Black
23.2%
3
Gray
15.5%
4
Silver
14.5%
5
Red
10.3%
6
Blue
9.0%
7
Brown
1.4%
8
Green
0.7%
9
Beige
0.4%
10
Orange
0.4%
11
Gold
0.3%
12
Yellow
0.2%
13
Purple
0.1%
Grayscale colored cars (white, black, gray, and silver) account for 77.1 percent of all vehicles on the road. White is the most popular car color for car buyers, accounting for 23.9 percent of all vehicles. “Apple helped popularize the color white with the launch of the iPhone, and consumers may associate it with being modern,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “White is also one of the easiest car colors to maintain and surprisingly hides dirt better than most colors.” Black cars rank second at 23.2 percent, followed by gray in third and silver in fourth. “Consumers may prefer grayscale colored cars from a practicality standpoint since they are colors they are less likely to tire of,” added Ly.
The most popular non-grayscale cars are red in fifth and blue in sixth. “Red cars are commonly associated with sports cars, so sporty drivers may opt for this hue,” said Ly. “Subdued blue hues are likely a popular choice among consumers who want to stand out in the sea of cars in neutral colors without being too flashy.”
The remaining colors include brown, green, beige, orange, gold, yellow, and purple. Combined, these colors account for just 3.5 percent of cars on the road.
Car color also plays a role in a new vehicle’s eventual resale value. “Less popular car colors tend to depreciate less because they are more scarce in the used car marketplace, while grayscale colors depreciate close to average,” said Ly. “
Car Color Popularity by State
iSeeCars also examined the most popular car colors by each state, and only two colors are represented. Echoing national trends, white narrowly edged black as the preferred vehicle color in 27 states, while black was the top color in 23.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of white, black, gray, and silver cars, iSeeCars also determined the most popular color outside of these hues. Red was the most popular color in 38 states, while blue was the most popular in 12.
Most Popular Car Colors by State – iSeeCars Study
Top Color
Top Non-Grayscale Color
State
Color
% Share
Color
% Share
Alaska
White
19.9%
Blue
12.2%
Alabama
White
25.4%
Red
10.7%
Arkansas
White
27.8%
Red
13.4%
Arizona
White
27.2%
Red
10.1%
California
White
27.7%
Blue
7.5%
Colorado
White
23.3%
Red
9.7%
Connecticut
Black
24.1%
Blue
10.7%
Delaware
Black
25.1%
Blue
10.6%
Florida
White
25.0%
Red
10.3%
Georgia
Black
24.3%
Red
9.6%
Hawaii
White
28.2%
Blue
8.1%
Iowa
Black
23.8%
Red
13.7%
Idaho
White
26.6%
Red
11.7%
Illinois
Black
26.1%
Red
10.7%
Indiana
Black
24.5%
Red
13.2%
Kansas
White
24.2%
Red
12.0%
Kentucky
Black
23.8%
Red
12.0%
Louisiana
White
26.5%
Red
8.8%
Massachusetts
Black
24.8%
Blue
9.7%
Maryland
Black
24.9%
Blue
10.4%
Maine
Black
23.8%
Red
11.7%
Michigan
Black
26.6%
Red
12.3%
Minnesota
Black
25.9%
Red
11.8%
Missouri
Black
24.0%
Red
12.2%
Mississippi
White
28.0%
Red
9.6%
Montana
White
24.7%
Red
13.1%
North Carolina
White
23.8%
Red
10.1%
North Dakota
Black
24.3%
Red
13.9%
Nebraska
White
24.4%
Red
13.9%
New Hampshire
Black
23.4%
Blue
11.4%
New Jersey
Black
25.7%
Blue
9.0%
New Mexico
White
26.2%
Red
11.1%
Nevada
White
26.2%
Red
8.9%
New York
Black
25.8%
Red
9.8%
Ohio
Black
24.5%
Red
12.4%
Oklahoma
White
25.0%
Red
12.9%
Oregon
White
24.5%
Red
9.5%
Pennsylvania
Black
22.5%
Red
11.4%
Rhode Island
Black
23.2%
Blue
9.7%
South Carolina
White
24.3%
Red
10.2%
South Dakota
White
23.2%
Red
14.1%
Tennessee
White
23.4%
Red
10.5%
Texas
White
25.3%
Red
10.3%
Utah
White
26.7%
Red
9.6%
Virginia
Black
23.0%
Blue
10.4%
Vermont
Black
22.1%
Red
13.0%
Washington
White
24.0%
Blue
9.6%
Wisconsin
Black
26.1%
Red
13.2%
West Virginia
White
23.3%
Red
14.5%
Wyoming
White
25.4%
Red
13.5%
What are the Most Colorful States?
iSeeCars further analyzed state data to rank states based on their shares of non-grayscale vehicles. The most colorful state is Vermont, while the least colorful state is Hawaii.
States with the Most Non-Grayscale Colored Cars – iSeeCars Study
Rank
State
Share of colors that are non-BWGS
1
Vermont
30.0%
2
West Virginia
29.7%
3
Wyoming
28.9%
4
Montana
28.6%
5
South Dakota
28.4%
6
Alaska
28.2%
7
Wisconsin
27.7%
8
Indiana
27.6%
9
North Dakota
27.4%
10
Maine
27.0%
11
New Hampshire
26.5%
12
Michigan
26.4%
13
Ohio
26.3%
14
Pennsylvania
26.3%
15
Nebraska
26.2%
16
Iowa
25.5%
17
Idaho
25.4%
18
Kentucky
24.8%
19
Minnesota
24.7%
20
New Mexico
24.6%
21
Kansas
24.5%
22
Missouri
24.5%
23
Virginia
24.5%
24
Delaware
24.4%
25
Oklahoma
23.6%
26
Maryland
23.5%
27
Illinois
23.5%
28
Arkansas
23.4%
29
New York
23.2%
30
Connecticut
23.2%
31
Colorado
22.9%
32
Florida
22.9%
33
Tennessee
22.8%
34
Washington
22.6%
35
North Carolina
22.6%
36
Rhode Island
22.2%
37
Oregon
22.2%
38
South Carolina
22.2%
39
Massachusetts
21.8%
40
Arizona
21.8%
41
Alabama
21.6%
42
Texas
21.4%
43
Nevada
21.4%
44
Georgia
21.0%
45
Utah
20.8%
46
Mississippi
20.1%
47
New Jersey
19.8%
48
Louisiana
19.6%
49
California
17.3%
50
Hawaii
17.1%
Most Popular Car Colors by Metro Area
In the 50 most populated metro areas in the United States, white and black are the only colors represented as the area’s most popular car color. White cars earn the distinction in 28 metro areas, while black is the most popular in 22. Similar to state data, red is the most popular non-gray color in most metro areas with 41. Blue cars are the most popular in nine.
Most Popular Car Colors by Metro Area
DMA
Top Color
% Share
Top Non-Grayscale Color
% Share
Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM
White
25.6%
Red
10.9%
Atlanta, GA
Black
24.8%
Red
9.2%
Austin, TX
White
25.0%
Red
10.0%
Baltimore, MD
Black
25.3%
Blue
10.8%
Birmingham, AL
White
25.4%
Red
10.0%
Boston, MA-Manchester, NH
Black
24.2%
Blue
10.1%
Charlotte, NC
Black
23.5%
Red
9.4%
Chicago, IL
Black
26.5%
Red
9.4%
Cincinnati, OH
Black
24.4%
Red
11.3%
Cleveland-Akron (Canton), OH
Black
24.2%
Red
11.4%
Columbus, OH
Black
24.2%
Red
11.9%
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
White
25.2%
Red
9.6%
Denver, CO
White
23.1%
Red
9.6%
Detroit, MI
Black
27.0%
Red
11.1%
Fresno-Visalia, CA
White
27.2%
Red
8.7%
Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo, MI
Black
25.1%
Red
11.9%
Greensboro-Winston Salem, NC
White
24.8%
Red
10.4%
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
White
23.9%
Red
10.6%
Harrisburg-Lancaster-York, PA
Black
21.4%
Red
11.6%
Hartford & New Haven, CT
Black
23.8%
Blue
10.5%
Houston, TX
White
24.5%
Red
9.5%
Indianapolis, IN
Black
24.7%
Red
13.0%
Jacksonville, FL
White
23.8%
Red
10.1%
Kansas City, MO
Black
24.4%
Red
11.2%
Las Vegas, NV
White
26.0%
Red
8.8%
Los Angeles, CA
White
28.1%
Blue
7.1%
Memphis, TN
White
23.7%
Red
10.4%
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL
White
25.6%
Red
8.8%
Milwaukee, WI
Black
26.7%
Red
11.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Black
25.8%
Red
11.3%
Nashville, TN
Black
23.6%
Red
10.1%
New York, NY
Black
25.9%
Blue
9.1%
Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News,VA
Black
21.7%
Red
11.0%
Oklahoma City, OK
White
25.1%
Red
12.4%
Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL
White
23.9%
Red
11.3%
Philadelphia, PA
Black
24.0%
Blue
10.2%
Phoenix, AZ
White
26.8%
Red
9.8%
Pittsburgh, PA
White
21.8%
Red
12.1%
Portland, OR
White
23.6%
Red
9.1%
Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville), NC
White
23.5%
Red
10.0%
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA
White
27.1%
Red
8.2%
Salt Lake City, UT
White
26.3%
Red
9.5%
San Antonio, TX
White
23.8%
Red
11.2%
San Diego, CA
White
27.4%
Red
7.5%
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
White
25.0%
Blue
8.2%
Seattle-Tacoma, WA
White
23.2%
Blue
9.7%
St. Louis, MO
Black
23.7%
Red
12.2%
Tampa-St Petersburg (Sarasota), FL
White
24.2%
Red
11.3%
Washington, DC (Hagerstown, MD)
Black
24.0%
Blue
10.2%
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL
White
25.6%
Red
9.5%
More from iSeeCars.com:
Car Color and Its Effect on Value
Most Popular New and Used Cars By State
Cars Owners Keep the Longest
Methodology:
iSeeCars analyzed over 9.4 million one- to five-year-old used cars (model years 2014 – 2018) sold in 2019. The color of each car, as well as the location of sale, was tallied to determine the most popular car color nationally, in each state, and in each metro area.
About iSeeCars.com:
iSeeCars.com is a car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check reports. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $292 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.
This article, The Most Popular Car Colors originally appeared on iSeeCars.com.
