If someone asked you to name the state that buys the most pickup trucks, how do you think you would fare? What if we told you it’s not Texas, it’s nowhere in the midwest, and it’s not a state that’s known for farming? Do you still feel confident in your answer?

Nothing says American like a rugged classic pickup truck. Trucks are known as workhorses that help support farmers, tradesmen, and outdoor enthusiasts, to name a few. They have the power to haul, to store, and well, they just plain look good. So which state just can’t get enough pickup trucks?

Texas comes in second for buying pickup trucks

If you guessed Texas, you were almost there. According to Flex Fleet, there are approximately 4.2 million pickup trucks in the Lone Star state. It makes sense. Texas is a state that is known for farming. Plus, you can’t forget, everything’s bigger in Texas. When Texas buys trucks, they buy big, tough trucks that can take a beating. 

But Texans don’t just like to drive their trucks, they like to talk about them as well. A recent article found that Texans talks more about trucks than any other state in the country. Just which truck do they like talking about? The RAM 1500, apparently. Texas and 16 other states talked about the RAM 1500 more than any other truck according to geotagging data.

Californians love their trucks

According to Flex Fleet, there are about half a million more trucks in California than there are in Texas. While this may come as a surprise, if you think about it, it makes sense. There are more residents in California than any other state in the US. When you look at the numbers, there are about 40 million people in California as opposed to only 29 million in Texas.

So while California may buy more trucks numbers-wise, if you’re doing the math, there are more trucks per person in Texas than there are in the Golden State, or any other state.

Soon, Texas may just outnumber California straight out when it comes to truck ownership. California is considering requiring zero-emission truck sales. The new proposal would make it so that 15% of total truck sales in the state would have to be zero-emission by 2030. By 2040, that number would have to be 100%.

While efforts have been made to make trucks more fuel-efficient, California still struggles in this regard. The Hartford Courant reports that California’s transportation sector contributes to over 41% of all greenhouse gas emissions. If the legislation passes, we’ll either see a serious shift towards more emission-efficient trucks or a lot less trucks in California. 

Trucks are among the top-selling vehicles in the country

It’s not just Californians and Texans that love their trucks. Millions of Americans prefer trucks over any other vehicle. A recent report found that of the top-selling vehicles in the United States in 2018, trucks took the top three spots. 

What were the top sellers? In 2018, Americans bought just under one million Ford F series trucks – 909,330 to be exact. The Chevy Silverado was a distant second with 585,581 truck sales for the year. Rounding out the top three, the RAM 1500 was the top choice for 536,980 Americans.

Ford’s F series was so popular that it fell just 30,000 trucks short of having its best sales ever. So why are Americans buying so many trucks? Fox News suggests that gas prices and fuel efficiency might have something to do with it. Americans love their trucks. As long as they can afford to fill their tank and do so in an eco-friendly manner, the trend towards truck buying is likely to continue well into the future.