KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As Tennesseans trade in their old green mountain plates for the new blue ones, the majority of people are asking for the version that includes "In God We Trust."
The Tennessee Department of Revenue provided data on the roughly 2 million new plates issued across the state so far this year, showing that 56% of Tennessee drivers wanted the national motto on their plates.
In East Tennessee, this was especially true -- with the majority of counties having high percentages of "In God We Trust" plates.
Fentress County topped the list with the highest overall percentage in the state -- and it wasn't even close: 98% of the 5,863 who applied for new plates in the county chose the version with the motto.
Knox County remained nearly evenly split between the two versions of the plate, with 49% of 141,044 choosing the version with the motto. Anderson County had the lowest percentage in the area at 46% and was the only other East Tennessee county outside of Knox and Washington counties with a higher percentage of motto-less plates issued.
The Tennessee county with the lowest percentage of "In God We Trust" plates? That would be Nashville's Davidson County, which put the motto on 13% of its 181,000 plates.
In Tennessee, people have to specify when they apply for new plates if they want the motto included, as the standard is the motto-less plate. It's also worth noting these numbers are only for the blue plates and do not include the numerous specialized plates such as the Dolly Parton or Friends of the Smokies plates.
Percentage of East Tennesseans Choosing "In God We Trust" Plates
- Fentress County - 98%
- Hancock County - 90%
- Grainger County - 86%
- Scott County - 83%
- Bledsoe County - 82%
- Campbell County - 82%
- Claiborne County - 82%
- Cocke County - 79%
- Meigs County - 78%
- Jefferson County - 77%
- Roane County - 77%
- Union County - 76%
- Rhea County - 75%
- Greene County - 74%
- Hawkins County - 71%
- Cumberland County - 68%
- Hamblen County - 68%
- Loudon County - 68%
- Sevier County - 68%
- McMinn County - 67%
- Monroe County - 58%
- Morgan County - 54%
- Blount County - 53%
- Knox County - 49%
- Anderson County - 46%