A truck is a truck. Same year, same engine, same worn-in mileage — it should cost roughly the same whether it's sitting in Portland or Miami. That was my assumption until I sorted our listings by state.
It's not close. A 2018 Ford F-150 with 90,000 to 130,000 miles averages $28,119 in Oregon and $18,346 in Florida. Same truck, same age band, nearly ten thousand dollars apart.
The map, holding mileage steady
I kept the window tight on purpose — one model year, one narrow mileage band — because a raw state average mostly measures which states happen to list newer trucks. With that controlled, here's where the same F-150 lands.
| State | Average price | Avg miles | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $28,119 | 104,482 | 30 |
| Washington | $26,318 | 109,381 | 15 |
| Minnesota | $24,743 | 98,174 | 14 |
| Colorado | $22,259 | 111,661 | 19 |
| Arizona | $21,788 | 114,838 | 12 |
| Texas | $20,289 | 116,793 | 14 |
| California | $19,849 | 112,120 | 29 |
| Florida | $18,346 | 112,852 | 29 |
Oregon and Washington sit at the top. Florida and California — the two states people assume are expensive for everything — sit at the bottom. Texas, the state that buys the most trucks in America, comes in below average.
Why the gap runs this way
The pattern lines up with supply, not with cost of living. Texas and Florida are drowning in used F-150s — huge truck markets, constant turnover, sellers competing with each other. The Pacific Northwest has fewer of them and buyers who still want one.
Rust matters too, in reverse of what you'd guess. Florida trucks live through salt air and afternoon storms; northern trucks meet road salt. Neither is the clean option, and both push local prices down in ways a mileage number doesn't show. It's one more reason to check a specific truck's history instead of trusting the regional average.
One caveat I'd flag honestly: some of these state samples are thin — Arizona rests on 12 listings, Minnesota on 14. The direction is clear, the exact dollar figure for a small state is not.
What I'd do with this
If you're in Oregon or Washington and flexible, the math on a road trip works out. Ten thousand dollars buys a lot of plane tickets and fuel, and a Florida truck driven home is still a Florida truck.
If you're buying locally, use the spread as leverage rather than a plan — knowing the same truck trades nine grand cheaper two time zones away is a real argument at the negotiating table. Before that conversation, look up what an F-150 is actually worth in your year and mileage, and factor in what it costs to insure a truck where you live — that gap runs in the opposite direction in some states.
Frequently asked questions
Which states have the cheapest used trucks?
On our listings, Florida and California price a 2018 F-150 lowest at matched mileage — around $18,300 and $19,800. Oregon and Washington sit highest, near $28,000 and $26,300.
Is it worth buying a truck out of state?
When the spread reaches nine or ten thousand dollars, travel and transport costs are easily covered. Verify the individual truck first — regional rust and flood exposure vary a lot.
Why are trucks cheaper in Texas than Oregon?
Supply. Texas has an enormous used truck market with constant turnover and sellers competing; the Pacific Northwest lists far fewer of them for buyers who still want one.
Denis Kataev is a serial solopreneur and the founder of ForCar. With 15+ years in software engineering and 10 years in SEO, he builds data-driven products end to end — backed by a sharp eye for design. At ForCar he mines proprietary vehicle datasets, turning raw numbers into buying advice you can actually trust.
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