Minnesota’s blackout license plates have been a huge hit. Here’s who is buying them.

Minnesotans are in love with their blackout license plates, with nearly a quarter million of them affixed to front and back bumpers.

The tags featuring block white letters against a black background are by far the top selling specialty plate of the 123 available in the Minnesota, and last year they blew past sales projections by nearly 90,000.

But who besides Gov. Tim Walz, who bought one of the plates in January 2024, is shelling out $15.50 (the price of a standard plate) plus a $30 annual fee for the privilege of owning one of the novelties?

Blackout plates have been extremely popular with middle-aged Minnesotans, who have snapped up the plates beginning with the letter Z at a rate faster than anyone. For every 10,000 residents between 45 and 54, about 770 now have a blackout plate, according to data from the Department of Vehicle Services, tracking plates issued and sold from January to December.

Adults over 65 bought them at the slowest rate of any age demographic, followed by younger drivers between 18 and 24.

Aesthetics was the primary reason that Chris Dorn, 59, of Eden Prairie said he bought one of the plates last May, right after he bought a new green Kia Telluride with black accents.

“I immediately did not like the standard plate,” he said. “The blue and white plates stuck [out] against it. The black and white plate is nice and simple. It matches what cars look like today.”

Dorn is among 5% of Kia owners who switched from standard plates to blackout tags. Owners of luxury BMWs bought blackout plates at a much faster clip, with 1,441 issued for every 10,000 registered vehicles. Cadillac, Jeep, Volkswagen and Lexus owners round out the top five with blackout tags among the 20 most common vehicles registered in Minnesota.

Buick drivers were the least likely to have them among drivers of the most common vehicle types registered in the state. When any model on the road is factored in, Lamborghini owners led the way, with 4 in 10 owners of the sporty car displaying blackout plates, the data showed.

Though found throughout the state, vehicle owners in some of the metro’s fastest-growing and wealthiest suburbs have the highest concentration of blackout plates. Dayton is tops with more than 1,000 blackout plates for every 10,000 residents. Neighboring cities of Hanover, Rogers and Corcoran follow right behind.

Cities with wealthy enclaves, such as Wayzata, Lake Elmo, Shorewood, St. Michael and Victoria, have some of the highest blackout plate purchasing, according to a data analysis.

Sales skyrocketed in warm weather months, with more sold in August than any other month. May came in second. DVS issued the fewest in January.

“Maybe people are getting cars for graduation or new drivers taking road tests,” DVS spokesman Mark Karstedt said of the spike in May sales. “Or going to college,” he speculated, for the peak sales in August. Summer car shows could be another factor, Karstedt added.

Standard blackout plates featuring three letters and three numbers accounted for the lion’s share of sales, with more than 216,800.

But TJ Turner, 37, of Minneapolis was one 21,360 drivers who opted for a personalized blackout plate. Tags on his 2000 Jeep Wrangler bear his nickname, “Teej.”

Turner and his wife each had a vehicle with a state parks and trails specialty license plate allowing them unlimited entrance to Minnesota state parks. But it “seemed expensive” to have them on both vehicles when only one of their vehicles would be in a park at the same time. In February, he switched to the blackout plate.

“I love the conservation plates,” said Turner, but added that their images make the plates look busy.

“I wanted something looking clean. They look sharp,” he said of the blackout plates, which he bought online.

The Legislature gave the DVS the authority to offer the blackout plates last year, six years after they debuted in neighboring Iowa. Sales began Jan. 1 and DVS set a modest goal of issuing 160,000 by the end of the year. Sales reached 249,000.

Due to robust sales, the DVS has nearly exhausted its supply of the current alphanumeric convention. In the near, future tags will appear in inverse order, with three numbers followed by three letters, Karstedt said in January.

“I think it is surprising how they seemed to underestimate how well they would do,” he said. “It’s a good-looking plate.”

MaryJo Webster of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.