A truck is a truck. Same badge, same year range, same miles on the clock — and the asking price still swings by more than ten thousand dollars depending on which state that truck happens to be parked in. I'd heard people say this for years and quietly assumed it was mostly noise: one guy's beat-up work truck averaged against another guy's garage queen. So I locked the filters down and looked.
Here's the comparison, and it's a fair one: Ford F-150, model years 2016 through 2020, odometer squeezed into a 60,000 to 120,000 mile corridor. No 30k-mile outliers pulling an average up, no 200k farm trucks dragging it down. Same truck, same age, same wear. Only the state changes.
| State | Average price | Listings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | $31,053 | 28 | Priciest |
| WA | $28,158 | 83 | |
| MT | $28,028 | 32 | |
| AZ | $27,662 | 41 | |
| ND | $26,784 | 34 | |
| CO | $26,636 | 49 | |
| MN | $24,418 | 85 | |
| MO | $22,712 | 28 | |
| FL | $20,262 | 71 | Cheapest |
Michigan tops out at $31,053. Florida sits at $20,262. That's $10,791 of daylight between two trucks that would look identical sitting side by side in a parking lot.
Why the map looks like this
The pattern isn't random. Pickups get expensive where they're a working tool and where winter is a real opponent — Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Colorado. Four-wheel drive isn't a nice-to-have there, it's the entire point, and a clean used one gets bought the week it's listed. Washington and Arizona ride the same demand curve for their own reasons, and both hold above $27,600.
Florida goes the other direction. No snow, no premium on the drivetrain, and a deep pool of trucks changing hands — 71 listings in this slice alone. Supply plus indifference equals the cheapest average in the group. Missouri and Minnesota land in between at $22,712 and $24,418.
Sedans move too, just not like this
| State | Average price | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| WA | $20,891 | 25 |
| CA | $18,002 | 80 |
Same filters, Toyota Camry, 2016-2020, 60-120k miles. Washington averages $20,891 across 25 listings, California $18,002 across 80. That's a $2,889 spread — real money, but a fraction of what the truck does. Sedans are national cars. Nobody buys a Camry because of the weather.
So do you drive for it?
At ten grand, the math starts to work. But run the whole number before you book a one-way flight: fuel or transport for the haul home, sales tax and registration charged by your home state rather than the one you bought in, and a pre-purchase inspection you actually pay a local mechanic to perform sight-unseen. Skip that last one and the discount has a habit of evaporating in the first repair bill.
One caveat worth holding onto: Michigan's average rests on 28 listings and Missouri's on 28 as well, while Washington's 83 and Minnesota's 85 are sturdier numbers. Thin samples wobble. Start by checking what it's worth in your area, then compare it against the states above — if your own market is already near the bottom of that table, the trip isn't worth the gas. For the wider picture, compare used truck prices by model and year, see what a used Ford F-150 costs across trims, and run the VIN on anything you'd drive out of state to buy.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the same used F-150 so much more expensive in Michigan than in Florida?
Demand and climate. In Michigan the truck is a working tool and four-wheel drive matters, so clean used examples sell fast. Florida has no winter demand and a deep supply of trucks changing hands, which pushes the average down to $20,262 against Michigan's $31,053.
Was the mileage controlled for in this comparison?
Yes. Every listing is a 2016-2020 F-150 with between 60,000 and 120,000 miles, so low-mileage outliers and worn-out high-mileage trucks are both excluded from the averages.
Is it worth buying a car in another state to save money?
Sometimes, but you have to price the whole trip: transport or fuel home, sales tax and registration charged by your home state, and a paid pre-purchase inspection by a local mechanic. On a $10,791 gap the math usually survives that. On a $2,000 gap it usually doesn't.
Do sedans show the same state-to-state price gaps as trucks?
Much smaller ones. A 2016-2020 Camry in the same mileage band averages $20,891 in Washington and $18,002 in California — a $2,889 spread, compared with $10,791 on the F-150.
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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