Car Ownership Statistics in the US

Updated: November 1, 2024

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The United States had more than 283 million registered vehicles in 2022, nearly a 2.5% increase in three years. Despite this growth, 8% of Americans still do not own cars. Statistics also show disparities between urban and rural areas. For example, the New York metropolitan area has a high rate of individuals without a vehicle, whereas Daphne-Fairhope-Foley in Alabama has some of the highest car ownership rates.

U.S. households owned an average of 1.8 cars in 2022, with significant regional differences in vehicle dependency. In metro areas like Provo-Orem in Utah, households averaged 2.1 cars, reflecting a higher reliance on personal vehicles. Meanwhile, electric vehicle (EV) ownership is steadily increasing, with almost 3.3 million EVs registered nationwide.

These trends underscore the evolving landscape of car ownership across the country, influenced by factors such as geography, technology and lifestyle changes. Explore the data and trends to gain deeper insights into the shifting patterns of vehicle ownership in the U.S.

U.S. Car Ownership Fast Facts

 

Car ownership in the U.S. continued to increase in 2022, but there are still many individuals without cars.

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The total number of U.S. vehicle registrations reached 283,400,986 in 2022.

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California recorded the highest registrations at 31,119,113.

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The total number of registered vehicles increased by 2.5% in the last three years. Year over year, car registration grew by nearly 1.2 million.

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Alabama’s Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area had the highest number of car owners among all metro areas, with an estimated 171,246 vehicles.

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Vehicles across the U.S. covered nearly 3.19 trillion miles in 2023, marking a modest increase from 3.17 trillion miles in 2022.

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Approximately 8% of Americans do not own a vehicle.

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About 3.3 million all-electric vehicles were registered across the U.S. in 2022.

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In 2024, the average age of cars owned by U.S. drivers is 13 years.


Number of Registered Vehicles in the U.S.

The total number of registered motor vehicles in the country reached 283,400,986 in 2022, reflecting a 2.5% increase from 2019’s total of 276,491,174. Automobiles comprised 35% of this total, with 98,573,935 registered as private and commercial vehicles (including taxicabs) and 1,372,935 as publicly owned.

The rise in registrations is largely due to trucks, which account for 61% of all vehicles, followed by automobiles, motorcycles (3%) and buses (<1%). Of the total, 278,870,463 vehicles were privately or commercially owned, and 4,530,523 were publicly owned, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration.

Percentage of Americans Who Don’t Own a Vehicle

With the increase in car registration numbers, it may appear that access to vehicles in the U.S. improved as well. However, approximately 8% of Americans (more than 10.4 million) still did not own a vehicle in 2022.

At 30%, the rate of households without a vehicle is the highest in highly urbanized areas like New York City. More rural areas, like the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley area in Alabama, had the lowest rate of non-ownership, with only 2% of households lacking a vehicle.

Disparities in income and wealth also contribute to lower vehicle ownership rates among people of color compared to white Americans. This issue is further compounded in rural areas, where low-income individuals are most affected by the lack of public transportation infrastructure, making it difficult to access work, health care, education and other essential services without a car.

Average Cars Per Household

On average, American households had 1.83 cars as of 2022, or roughly two vehicles per household. This trend is influenced by more people working from home, fewer daily commutes and a shift from urban to suburban and rural living, as highlighted in the Summary of Travel Trends report by the Federal Highway Administration.

Vehicle Ownership by State

Car ownership statistics vary by state. California reported the highest number of registered vehicles in 2022, with 31,119,113. It is followed by Texas (23,291,638), Florida (19,663,462), Ohio (11,028,755) and Pennsylvania (10,868,829).

Conversely, Washington, D.C., and Vermont had the lowest number of registered vehicles, with 380,801 and 625,664, respectively.

State
Registered Vehicles 2022
Non-Owner 2022

Alabama

5,464,382

5.6%

Alaska

679,125

9.1%

Arizona

6,090,179

5.5%

Arkansas

3,569,698

6.0%

California

31,119,113

6.9%

Colorado

5,116,858

5.0%

Connecticut

2,789,423

8.5%

Delaware

467,268

6.1%

Dist. of Col.

380,801

35.7%

Florida

19,663,462

6.0%

Georgia

9,153,627

6.0%

Electric Vehicle Ownership

In 2022, there were almost 3.3 million all-electric vehicles (EVs) registered across the U.S., with California leading the way with 1.2 million. Florida and Texas follow, contributing significant numbers at 231,518 and 210,433 EVs, respectively.

In contrast, states like North Dakota and Wyoming have only a modest number of EVs on the road, fewer than 1,100 each.

State
Registration Count

California

1,178,948

Florida

231,518

Texas

210,433

Washington

141,055

New Jersey

125,317

New York

121,768

Illinois

93,021

Georgia

85,050

Arizona

84,611

Colorado

82,563

Virginia

78,694

Vehicle Ownership by Metro Area

Car ownership also varies significantly across U.S. metropolitan areas. According to 2022 data from the Census Bureau, the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area in Alabama had the highest vehicle ownership, with an estimated 171,246 vehicles for a population of about 90,802. This equates to a 98% ownership rate and an average of 1.9 cars per household. In contrast, the New York metropolitan area, one of the most densely populated regions, had 8,704,115 vehicles across 7,321,054 households, with 87% of households owning a car.

Overall, car ownership across metro areas in the U.S. ranges widely, with the average number of cars per household varying from 1.19 in New York-Newark-Jersey City to 2.12 in Provo-Orem, Utah.

Metro Area
Vehicle Ownership Rate 2022
Households 2022
Vehicles per Household 2022

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

70%

7,321,054

1.19

Ithaca, NY

87%

42,984

1.5

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

87%

1,913,599

1.56

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

88%

2,419,824

1.57

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

88%

3,654,700

1.58

Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

88%

106,640

1.61

Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY

88%

497,529

1.52

San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

88%

1,723,229

1.64

Trenton-Princeton, NJ

88%

139,549

1.6

Binghamton, NY

89%

101,651

1.57

Johnstown, PA

89%

55,541

1.62

Metros With the Most and Least Cars

Car ownership rates differ across U.S. metropolitan areas due to factors like local infrastructure and access to public transportation.

In areas like Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama, and Provo-Orem, Utah, most households own multiple vehicles, indicating a reliance on personal transportation. Conversely, metro areas with extensive public transit systems, such as New York-Newark-Jersey City and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts, have lower vehicle ownership rates, with many households owning one or no vehicles.

10 Metros With the Highest Vehicle Ownership

Metro Area
No-Vehicle Households
1-Vehicle Households
2-Vehicle Households
3+-Vehicle Households

Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL

2.3%

31.1%

42.5%

24.2%

Provo-Orem, UT

2.5%

19.3%

42%

36.2%

St. George, UT

3%

26.2%

41.3%

29.4%

Logan, UT-ID

3.2%

19.9%

40.3%

36.6%

Ogden-Clearfield, UT

3.4%

21.4%

39.7%

35.5%

10 Metros With the Lowest Vehicle Ownership

Metro Area
No-Vehicle Households
1-Vehicle Households
2-Vehicle Households
3+-Vehicle Households

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

30.4%

32.6%

24.5%

12.4%

Ithaca, NY

13.3%

37.2%

35.8%

13.7%

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

12.7%

37.2%

35.7%

16.2%

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

12.4%

35.3%

35.1%

17.2%

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

12%

35.7%

34.9%

17.4%

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About Nathan Paulus


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Nathan Paulus is the Head of Content Marketing at MoneyGeek, with nearly 10 years of experience researching and creating content related to personal finance and financial literacy.

Paulus has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of St. Thomas, Houston. He enjoys helping people from all walks of life build stronger financial foundations.


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