Junk car prices by state 2026: median offer is $350

JunkUrCar's Fall 2026 Junk Car Price Index analyzes 42,268 real instant offers across 50 states and DC, with state medians from $175 in Hawaii to $500 in Connecticut.

Birmingham, United States, October 27, 2026 -- The typical junk car in the United States draws an offer of about $350, according to the Fall 2026 Junk Car Price Index published by JunkUrCar.com. The index analyzes 42,268 real instant offers generated for sellers between March 5, 2022 and October 23, 2026, across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key findings

Median junk car offers by state, Fall 2026

• National median junk car offer: $350 (middle half $250–$525), across 42,268 offers.
• Highest state medians: Connecticut and Nebraska ($500); lowest: Hawaii ($175).
• Vehicles 6–10 years old drew a $1,075 median, about 3.6 times the $300 median for cars 21 or more years old.
• Ford was the most common make (6,696 offers, $350 median); Toyota had the highest median among high-volume makes ($450).

The middle half of all offers fell between $250 and $525. The full report, including state, make and vehicle-age tables and free CSV downloads, is available at the JunkUrCar Junk Car Price Index — Fall 2026.

Where junk cars draw the highest and lowest offers

Location changes what a junk car is worth. Among states with at least 20 offers, Connecticut posted the highest median at $500, followed by Nebraska ($500), New Jersey ($475) and North Dakota ($450). Florida, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, Delaware and Vermont each came in at $425.

The lowest medians were in Hawaii ($175), followed by Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Mississippi at $250 each. The largest markets by volume sat close to the national figure: California and Texas both had a median of $350, on 3,892 and 3,149 offers respectively. Sellers can look up their own state on the junk car values by state pages.

Vehicle age matters more than make

Age is the strongest signal in the data. Vehicles 6 to 10 years old drew a median offer of $1,075, about 3.6 times the $300 median for vehicles 21 or more years old. Vehicles 0 to 5 years old had a median of $6,900, reflecting newer vehicles that still hold significant resale or parts value.

By make, Ford was the most common vehicle in the index with 6,696 offers (15.8% of the total) and a median of $350. Chevrolet followed with 6,371 offers at $350. Toyota posted the highest median among high-volume makes at $450, followed by Kia at $425 and Hyundai and GMC at $400 each.

Offers softened slightly over the past year

The quarterly median was $425 in the third quarter of 2025 and $350 in the third quarter of 2026. Mid-2026 quarters held between $350 and $375.

"Most people selling a junk car have no idea what it's worth, so they take the first number they hear," said Chad Buchanan, founder of Noemic, the parent company of JunkUrCar. "We built this index from real offers so sellers, reporters and researchers can see what cars are actually drawing in their state and for their vehicle's age, before they make a call."

How the index was built

The index uses offers generated for sellers through JunkUrCar.com and its partner buyers. Amounts reflect what sellers were offered, not final sale prices. Medians and middle-half ranges (25th to 75th percentiles) are rounded to the nearest $25. States, makes and age groups require at least 20 offers to be published, and $0 offers are excluded. Condition is not recorded at the offer level, so no condition breakdown is published. No individual offers or seller details are released.

JunkUrCar is not the purchaser; offers come from partner buyers, and JunkUrCar may be compensated when a sale completes. Published figures are historical context, not a quote for any specific vehicle. Offers are not guaranteed. Sellers can get an estimate for a specific vehicle with the junk car value calculator.

The data is free to use with credit and a link to the report. JunkUrCar plans to refresh the index quarterly.

JunkUrCar.com helps vehicle owners across the United States request instant offers for junk, damaged, wrecked and non-running cars, with towing included after an offer is accepted. The site publishes local pricing data, state title guides and city-level selling resources. JunkUrCar is a Noemic company.

Contact Info:
Name: Chad Buchanan
Email: Send Email
Organization: JunkUrCar
Phone: (248) 686-6955
Website: https://junkurcar.com

Release ID: 89207453

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