These US States Buy The Most American Cars

President Trump's far-reaching tariffs have renewed the conversation about buying domestically made goods, with the automotive industry being particularly under the spotlight as a result of the new plans. Buying an American-made car isn't quite as straightforward as it once was — in fact, many top-selling models from American brands are actually made outside the U.S., or even outside North America entirely. Still, many buyers prefer to stick with brands that have American heritage, buying not only from the traditional Big Three manufacturers but also newer entrants like Tesla.

A 2023 study by iSeeCars collected data from 7 million car sales to determine which American states most favored American brands, and there are some clear trends in the results. The state with the highest percentage of American brand purchases was Michigan, with 75.3% of buyers choosing a domestically-badged car. In second place was North Dakota, with 70.0%, and in third place was Wyoming, with 68.1%. South Dakota and Iowa rounded out the top five.

The study calculated that the national average for American brand sales was 42.7%, with Delaware and Colorado being the two closest states to that average level. Only three states saw less than 30% of buyers opting for American brands: New Jersey, Connecticut, and California. By a slim margin, California had the lowest percentage of American brand car sales, at just 28.3%.

Shoppers' buying habits varied across the country, with coastal states being less likely to buy American badged cars and Midwestern states seeing higher levels of American brand sales than other regions. States with large cities also generally saw a larger proportion of foreign-badged car sales, with New York, Arizona, and Florida all seeing foreign brand sales higher than the national average. Michigan was the only state to see more than three quarters of sales attributed to domestic brands, with Detroit's status as the traditional heart of the American automotive industry helping local brands keep a firm grip on the local market.

It can be easy to assume that buying a car with an American badge is the best way to ensure you're buying a car that's still made in America, but that's no longer the case. In fact, six out of 10 of the most American-made cars in Cars.com's American-Made Index are sold under foreign brand names. The index accounts for both manufacturing location and the source of the components that make up the car.

Models like the super tough 2026 Honda Passport, Volkswagen ID.4, and Toyota Camry all rank among the top 10 most American-made cars, despite their non-domestic badges. Only one model out of the 10 hails from the traditional Big Three manufacturers, the Jeep Gladiator. Meanwhile, a trio of Tesla models make up the other three domestic brand entries.

Cars.com also analyzed data on each major manufacturer's domestic assembly, with Tesla, Ford, and Stellantis (which includes Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram) all assembling over two thirds of their U.S. market cars within the country. Honda and Toyota are the next highest placed for domestic assembly, with both assembling over half of their cars in the U.S., while Subaru takes the sixth highest spot, with 48.7% domestic assembly. General Motors languishes down in seventh position, only assembling 47.6% of its U.S. market cars locally. So, while many buyers continue supporting American car brands, those buying GM vehicles might not be supporting American manufacturing jobs quite as much as they think.