Lack Of Vanity?

No, probably it's the higher prices:

Texas is last in the nation in the percentage of drivers with vanity plates, according to a new study by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Virginia was first, with more than 16 percent of vehicles bearing personalized plates.

In Texas, less than a percent of the state's 21 million vehicles had them.

There are a few possible reasons: they couldn't be purchased online until recently, a low-key marketing approach and the state's crackdown on naughty words. State officials say they don't allow sayings connected to sex or alcohol.

..."We are very strict," Perkes said. "We want people to have fun, we want them to express themselves. But we have to be careful."

If you're a wine connoisseur, don't try to put VINO on your plate. If your letters have a double meaning that includes a possible sexual connotation, even if it's your own four-letter nickname, consider the request rejected.

If you think you can get by with a nasty word in some language besides English, think again. Your message won't be lost in translation with the screeners, Perkes said.

...The cost for a personalized plate in Texas remains $40. That's higher than Virginia's $10, but lower than the $78 charged in Illinois. Ordering a specialty plate in Texas featuring the name of an organization or sports team incurs a charge, too, depending on the design.

There are approximately 98,000 vanity plates in Texas. Most are in the big population center of Harris County, followed by Tarrant and Bexar counties.