Four States That Banned Billboards



Billboards are a part of the American landscape, advertising products and services to passing pedestrians and drivers. There are, however, four states that banned billboards. Hawaii was the first state to ban billboards in the 1920s, Vermont in 1968, Maine in 1984, and Alaska in 1998. So why did these states ban billboards? The major reason why Hawaii banned billboards is because they ruin the natural beauty of Hawaii. Vermont falls in line right behind Hawaii, banning billboards to preserve the beauty of the landscape. Maine followed suit by banning billboards because they were ruining the picturesque scenery that defined the quality of the northeastern state. Finally, Alaska banned billboards because …….. you guessed it …….. they believed that maintaining the scenic beauty of the state was more important than billboard advertising. Two states, Rhode Island and Oregon, have prohibited the construction of new billboards and a handful of communities have chosen to cap on the number of billboards that can be constructed. As for the states with the most billboards, Florida takes the No. 1 spot with 32,162 billboards statewide, followed by Texas with 24,262, and Michigan with 23,144.