Colorado license plates, by the numbers

DENVER — Colorado’s retro black license plate has only been back since January, but it is already the ninth most popular license plate on the roads.

Here’s a look at Colorado license plates, by the numbers, with data obtained by the Colorado Department of Revenue.

There are 214 various license plate styles offered by the state. That includes specialty plates, but also the standard plates for motorcycles, trailers, etc.

There are 6.2 million Colorado license plates on the roads.

Out of those, there are 3,978,292 passenger vehicles with Colorado’s classic green plates with white mountains, making it the most popular plate in Colorado.

No, temporary plates aren’t the most popular, despite what it might look like. There are 294,070 vehicles with temporary plates, making it the third most popular plate in Colorado.

The new black license plate is already on 65,017 vehicles, making it the tenth most popular license plate.

It falls just behind the Columbine license plate, which is eight overall and the most popular specialty plate, with 79,286.

Of the sports teams, the Denver Broncos Charities license plate is the most popular with 17,301. That makes it the 25th most popular license plate overall.

The second-most popular sports license plate is the Colorado Avalanche, with 5,091, making it the 48th most popular.

The Colorado Rockies are, surprisingly, not in last. With 3,109 license plates, the Rockies are the third-most popular sports team and 61st most popular overall.

There are 1,354 Denver Nuggets license plates, making it the 82nd most popular overall.

The University of Colorado is the most popular university plate with 12,733, making it the 31st most popular overall.

CSU is the second most popular university plate in 44th place, with 5,789.

Do sports championships increase popularity?

Denver Nuggets plates on the roads have already increased by 9%.

In April, when the NBA playoffs began, there were 1,233. Today, there are 1,354.

One year ago, there were 1,016. And two years ago, there were just 865.

Let’s look at the Colorado Avalanche for a glimpse at how popular the plates can become. In June 2021, one year before the Stanley Cup, there were 3,480 Avs plates.

In June 2022, when they won the Stanley Cup, there were 3,980.

The next month, it increased to 4,122. Today, there are 5,091.