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Where to sell a junk car

1,470 of the 5,296 junkyards in our directory (27.8%) are shown to buy junk cars, based on their customers' reviews or their own website. These are the states and cities with the most of them. We don't publish what any yard pays: offers depend on the car and change daily, so call for a quote.

States with the most yards that buy junk cars #

#StateBuy junk carsAll yardsSharePer 1M people
1 Florida 129 349 37.0% 5.52
2 California 102 503 20.3% 2.59
3 Texas 91 488 18.6% 2.91
4 New York 72 192 37.5% 3.62
5 Pennsylvania 71 280 25.4% 5.43
6 Ohio 68 234 29.1% 5.72
7 Wisconsin 64 148 43.2% 10.74
8 North Carolina 64 212 30.2% 5.79
9 Michigan 57 206 27.7% 5.62
10 Illinois 55 153 35.9% 4.33
11 New Jersey 49 144 34.0% 5.16
12 Georgia 48 174 27.6% 4.29
13 Indiana 43 146 29.5% 6.21
14 Massachusetts 35 110 31.8% 4.90
15 Washington 33 93 35.5% 4.15
16 Tennessee 31 132 23.5% 4.29
17 Colorado 29 69 42.0% 4.87
18 Oregon 28 65 43.1% 6.55
19 Missouri 27 137 19.7% 4.32
20 Minnesota 26 88 29.5% 4.49
21 Virginia 26 96 27.1% 2.95
22 Oklahoma 25 100 25.0% 6.10
23 Arizona 22 88 25.0% 2.90
24 Connecticut 21 49 42.9% 5.71
25 Louisiana 21 61 34.4% 4.57
26 Iowa 21 78 26.9% 6.48
27 Kansas 19 65 29.2% 6.40
28 Kentucky 19 94 20.2% 4.14
29 Maryland 18 67 26.9% 2.87
30 Alabama 18 83 21.7% 3.49
31 South Carolina 16 61 26.2% 2.92
32 Utah 14 34 41.2% 4.00
33 Nebraska 13 43 30.2% 6.48
34 Mississippi 11 64 17.2% 3.74
35 Maine 10 34 29.4% 7.12
36 Idaho 10 37 27.0% 5.00
37 Nevada 9 21 42.9% 2.75
38 New Hampshire 9 35 25.7% 6.39
39 Rhode Island 7 24 29.2% 6.29
40 Montana 7 26 26.9% 6.16
41 Arkansas 7 69 10.1% 2.27
42 South Dakota 6 16 37.5% 6.49
43 West Virginia 5 26 19.2% 2.82
44 New Mexico 5 33 15.2% 2.35
45 Wyoming 3 21 14.3% 5.11
46 Delaware 2 15 13.3% 1.90
47 Hawaii 1 4 25.0% 0.69
48 North Dakota 1 8 12.5% 1.26
49 Alaska 1 9 11.1% 1.35
50 Vermont 1 11 9.1% 1.54

Download: junk-car-buyers-by-state.csv

Most junk car buyers per person #

Listed yards that buy junk cars per million residents, for states with at least 5 of them.

#StateBuy junk carsPer 1M people
1 Wisconsin 64 10.74
2 Maine 10 7.12
3 Oregon 28 6.55
4 South Dakota 6 6.49
5 Iowa 21 6.48
6 Nebraska 13 6.48
7 Kansas 19 6.40
8 New Hampshire 9 6.39
9 Rhode Island 7 6.29
10 Indiana 43 6.21

Cities with the most yards that buy junk cars #

Cities with 2 or more listed yards that buy cars (217 cities; the top 30 are shown).

#CityBuy junk carsIndependentFree towingAll yards
1 Houston, TX 21 17 3 76
2 Milwaukee, WI 20 17 9 23
3 Philadelphia, PA 17 17 5 34
4 Orlando, FL 17 15 6 27
5 Rancho Cordova, CA 11 10 0 40
6 Indianapolis, IN 11 10 3 26
7 Tulsa, OK 10 9 1 18
8 Chicago, IL 10 8 4 17
9 Phoenix, AZ 9 6 3 50
10 Sun Valley, CA 8 6 1 26
11 Detroit, MI 8 8 3 17
12 Denver, CO 8 6 1 11
13 San Antonio, TX 7 6 3 29
14 Columbus, OH 7 7 3 20
15 Jacksonville, FL 7 6 3 18
16 Cleveland, OH 7 6 0 17
17 Kansas City, MO 7 7 2 14
18 Louisville, KY 7 5 1 9
19 Dallas, TX 6 6 1 31
20 Oklahoma City, OK 6 4 0 21
21 Charlotte, NC 6 4 2 14
22 San Jose, CA 6 6 4 12
23 Los Angeles, CA 5 5 1 21
24 Tampa, FL 5 4 2 17
25 Lancaster, CA 5 5 1 16
26 St. Louis, MO 5 5 3 16
27 Tucson, AZ 5 3 1 14
28 Miami, FL 5 5 2 13
29 Wichita, KS 5 4 0 11
30 Greensboro, NC 5 4 0 10

"Free towing" counts buyers with a review or website that mentions free towing. Download: junk-car-buyers-by-city.csv

States with no confirmed buyer yet

These states have listed yards, but none with a review or website that shows they buy junk cars. Many of these yards may still buy cars; call and ask.

Where the proof comes from

For 365 of the 1,470 buyers the proof is a customer review that describes selling or junking a car at the yard; for 810 it is the yard's own website, and for 295 it is both. Each yard's page shows the review sentence or notes the website. Chain locations are shown to buy cars at a rate of 77.1%, independents at 25.3%.

Before you call, read how to sell a car to a junkyard: what affects the offer, the paperwork most yards ask for and how to get the offer in writing.

How we count

A yard counts as a buyer only when a customer review describes selling a car to it (or the yard buying, towing off or junking someone's car) or the yard's own website says it buys cars. Many more yards buy cars than say so online, so these counts are a floor. We list only yards that pass our check: Google files each one as a salvage yard, junkyard, auto wrecker or used auto parts store, and its name, reviews or website confirm it is a yard of vehicles or parts. Population for the per-million figures: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 population estimates (July 1, 2024). Last updated 2026-11-08.

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