What single point in the USA would you find the greatest variety of license plates? (move to, metro area)
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My offhand guess would be somewhere like NOVA, a fast-growing region close to multiple other states, with people migrating there from around the country for jobs, not just from the nearby states.
When I lived in Fairfax County, only maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the plates I saw were Virginia, and even seeing plates from western states like California and Colorado was fairly common.
Tangentially: while it wasn't the highest license plate diversity, I was surprised by how many non-Nevada plates I saw in even a lot of the small towns in Nevada. Places like Lovelock (pop. 1800), hardly a cosmopolitan job center, had a large helping of Utah, Montana, and Idaho plates.
Lovelock is right on I-80, so wouldn't it stand to reason that it would have a large number of non-Nevada plates with people traveling on the interstate stopping to get gas, eat, and sleep (even with the paltry motel options compared to other towns on 80)?
In Boston, after Mass and Conn., the most common plates are NJ and then NY... then NH and RI.
Boy, do I not miss seeing those plates. I used to remember seeing all of those on that jammed packed I-95 corridor. All of them that touch I-95. Thing of it is, when i did live there, I never saw many from states that didn't touch I-95. Hardly ever any Iowa plates, Nebraska or Missouri, for instance.
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For random areas of interstate Kentucky has travelers from all over being the geographic center of the eastern US. Midwesterners must go through KY for the popular beach destinations. Very heavy flow of IL / MI / OH / WI vehicles on the north / south interstates during vacation season but a nice mix of states from all over at all times.
On my lone trip out West to Colorado there were in comparison far fewer out of state plates but a lot more rental plates (for states with some wording outing it as a fleet vehicle. Obviously most people from the coasts will fly to Denver then rent a car. Here in the East most people are a day's drive from home to destination so driving is preferred over flying. Most people are in their own vehicle not a rental with whichever random state.
That little sectio of Arizona between Las Vegas and Salt Lake. Only one exit in Arizona, and back dirt roads leading to the rest of AZ. Sit there for hours and not see an AZ plate. For 200 Arizonans in Littlefield AZ, it's a 3-hour drive through Las Vegas to the nearest AZ plates in Kingman.
That little sectio of Arizona between Las Vegas and Salt Lake. Only one exit in Arizona, and back dirt roads leading to the rest of AZ. Sit there for hours and not see an AZ plate. For 200 Arizonans in Littlefield AZ, it's a 3-hour drive through Las Vegas to the nearest AZ plates in Kingman.
Pick any major domestic military base. You will see tags from all 50 states. Still recall my surprise seeing Alaska and Hawaii plates at an airbase located in the middle of Arkansas.
It's not that hard to find 10+ different plates at a regular hotel along any freeway (at least not in the D/FW area).
During a 1 hour walk along the shore of Galveston Beach I decided to kept track of every out of state plate that wasn't a rental vehicle (been keeping track long enough to know when it's a rental). Wound up with 27 plates from 10 different states on a Monday evening. I'm sure that the Florida or California coastlines have even more variety.
In the D/FW area the rarest states are: Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and W Virginia. Seen more Quebec plates then any of these states.
Lovelock is right on I-80, so wouldn't it stand to reason that it would have a large number of non-Nevada plates with people traveling on the interstate stopping to get gas, eat, and sleep (even with the paltry motel options compared to other towns on 80)?
Oh, I meant while I was walking around a residential area. Like, in people's driveways.
Of course I'll say DC area again its a tourist town, people here on business/ work, colleges, military bases. Alot of southern plates whose destination is DC but nothing further north. Alot of northerners traveling south. I'm not just talking about I95 either but local roads. As the nation's capital I would expect to see a wide variety of plates.
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