America's Most Popular Car Colors (2020)
Most popular car colors nationally, by state, and by metro area.
When it comes to the most popular car colors, the answer is black or white according to a new 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:
(credit: iSeeCars.com)
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.
(photo credit: Ford)
