The DMV Almanac

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Compare any two states, side-by-side

Vehicle registration cost comparisons for all 50 US states, using a consistent baseline scenario ($35,000 new gas passenger vehicle, 3,800 lbs, first-time registration). Pick two states below, or browse 128 pre-built comparisons.

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Compare any of the 1225 possible state combinations — every pair has a dedicated comparison page.

Popular state comparisons

CA vs TX
California vs Texas
First-year cost comparison
FL vs GA
Florida vs Georgia
First-year cost comparison
CA vs FL
California vs Florida
First-year cost comparison
NY vs FL
New York vs Florida
First-year cost comparison
IL vs TX
Illinois vs Texas
First-year cost comparison
MI vs CA
Michigan vs California
First-year cost comparison
WA vs AZ
Washington vs Arizona
First-year cost comparison
OR vs TX
Oregon vs Texas
First-year cost comparison

All comparisons by state

Click any state name to see its full directory of side-by-side comparisons with neighboring and similar states.

Alabama (4)

Alaska (1)

Arizona (7)

Arkansas (6)

California (6)

Colorado (6)

Connecticut (4)

Delaware (3)

Florida (10)

Georgia (3)

Idaho (6)

Illinois (6)

Indiana (3)

Iowa (5)

Kansas (3)

Kentucky (5)

Louisiana (2)

Maine (1)

Maryland (3)

Massachusetts (4)

Michigan (2)

Minnesota (3)

Mississippi (1)

Missouri (3)

Montana (3)

Nebraska (2)

Nevada (2)

New Hampshire (1)

New Jersey (2)

New Mexico (3)

New York (4)

North Carolina (3)

North Dakota (1)

Ohio (2)

Oklahoma (1)

Oregon (2)

Pennsylvania (1)

South Dakota (1)

Tennessee (1)

Utah (1)

Virginia (1)

States with unique tax structures

These states don't follow the standard "sales tax plus registration" pattern — their registration regime is structurally different from most of the US.

  • Georgia — Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT): 7% one-time, replaces both sales tax and annual property tax
  • North Carolina — Highway Use Tax (HUT): 3% replaces sales tax, plus annual vehicle property tax
  • Arizona — Vehicle License Tax (VLT): depreciating MSRP-based annual tax in lieu of property tax
  • California — Vehicle License Fee (VLF): 0.65% of value, replaces property tax
  • Oregon — No sales tax, but a 0.5% vehicle privilege tax + high registration fees
  • Montana — No sales tax, age-tiered flat registration fee