How Many Americans Own Cars? 51 Car Ownership Statistics

There are 275,924,442 million vehicles registered in the United States as of 2020.

More trucks are owned in the U.S. than any other vehicle type. Cars come in second place before motorcycles and buses.

In fact, the number of registered vehicles in the US increased by 4.7% from 2015 to 2020.

U.S. Private and Commercial Ownership By Vehicle Type (FHWA)

Automobile	Buses	Trucks	Motorcycles	ALL
107,180,635	575,193	156,080,086	8,566,564	272,402,478

There is a very noticable difference in the type of car ownership in the U.S. While there are less than 4.1 million publicly owned vehicles, there are more than 272.4 million privately owned vehicles which mean together, they comprise the more 275 million vehicles owned in the United States.

U.S. Vehicle Ownership by Type (FHWA)

Private and commercial	Publicly owned vehicles	Total motor vehicles
272,402,478	4,088,696	276,491,174

Read More: Average Miles Driven Per Year

The number of total registered vehicles in the US is steadily growing year-over-year. From 2014 to 2020, there has been consistent growth as there were about 260 million vehicles in 2014, but by 2020, that number had increased to more than 275 million total registered U.S. vehicles.

Car Ownership Year-over-Year, 2014-2020 (FHWA)

Year	Total U.S. registered vehicles
2020	275,924,442
2019	276,491,174
2018	273,595,656
2017	272,429,803
2016	268,799,083
2015	263,610,219
2014	260,350,938

Depending on where you live in the U.S., vehicle ownership varies significantly.

There are several factors that impact the number of vehicles owned in a city, including size, population, demographics, and more.

Bankrate's analysis recently found that vehicle ownership is highest outside U.S. metropolitan areas. For example, there are several areas in Texas, California, Arizona, and Colorado that have the lowest percentage of vehicles among households. Keep reading:

10 U.S. Cities with the Highest Percentage of Vehicle Ownership

Rank	City	Percentage of households that own vehicles
1	Murietta, CA	99.3%
2	League City, Texas	99.0%
3	Surprise, Arizona	98.7%
4	West Jordan, Utah	98.7%
5	Cary, North Carolina	98.6%
6	Pearland, Texas	98.6%
7	Highlands Ranch, Colorado	98.5%
8	Centennial, Colorado	98.3%
9	Gilbert, Arizona	98.3%
10	Elk Grove, California	98.2%

Some of America's largest metropolitan areas have the lowest vehicle ownership rates, which is mainly due to ready access to public transportation, as well as the high cost of parking your car in these cities.

New York City has the lowest percentage of vehicle ownership in the U.S. Followed by NYC is the nearby metropolis Newark located in New Jersey.

Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts are areas with lower vehicle ownership among U.S. households.

10 U.S. Cities with the Lowest Percentage of Vehicle Ownership

Rank	City	Percentage of households that own vehicles
1	New York, New York	45.6%
2	Newark, New Jersey	59.7%
3	Washington, D.C.	62.7%
4	Jersey City, New Jersey	62.9%
5	Cambridge, Massachusetts	63.2%
6	Boston, Massachusetts	66.2%
7	Paterson, New Jersey	67.0%
8	Hartford, Connecticut	67.4%
9	San Francisco, California	70.1%
10	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	70.5%

The state with the most cars per household in the U.S. is California, with 9 of the top 10 U.S. cities for vehicle ownership.

10 U.S. Cities with the Most Cars Per Household

Rank	City	Percentage of households that own vehicles
1	Murrieta, California	2.36%
2	Jurupa Valley, California	2.32%
3	Moreno Valley, California	2.32%
4	West Jordan, Utah	2.3%
5	Simi Valley, California	2.29%
6	Corona, California	2.29%
7	Norwalk, California	2.27%
8	Pomona, California	2.27%
9	Fontana, California	2.27%
10	Santa Ana, California	2.25%

State	Private and Commercial	Public	All Private and Commercial Motor Vehicles*	Total for All Private and Publicly Owned Vehicles*
Alabama	2,065,223	43,886	2,109,108	5,288,208
Alaska	174,496	4,020	178,516	795,275
Arizona	2,387,462	18,496	2,405,959	5,982,559
Arkansas	874,634	12,013	886,647	2,902,111
California	14,654,371	240,541	14,894,912	31,247,270
Colorado	1,724,841	16,377	1,741,218	5,412,404
Connecticut	1,260,063	891	1,260,954	2,878,548
Delaware	422,002	1,460	423,462	1,016,927
District of Columbia	184,832	18,939	203,771	350,463
Florida	7,732,491	108,698	7,841,189	17,833,720
Georgia	3,445,471	54,049	3,499,520	8,594,567
Hawaii	492,034	6,958	498,992	1,272,361
Idaho	599,749	2,421	602,170	1,954,528
Illinois	4,286,622	36,228	4,322,850	10,691,947
Indiana	2,183,343	2,636	2,185,979	6,223,460
Iowa	1,210,633	11,210	1,221,843	3,786,328
Kansas	943,138	4,009	947,148	2,682,337
Kentucky	1,638,625	30,542	1,669,167	4,383,223
Louisiana	1,321,964	27,756	1,349,720	3,802,746
Maine	370,051	3,817	373,868	1,130,056
Maryland	1,841,711	27,283	1,868,994	4,203,994
Massachusetts	2,085,100	3,574	2,088,674	5,061,260
Michigan	2,810,414	21,085	2,831,499	8,440,065
Minnesota	1,821,645	15,186	1,836,831	5,425,885
Mississippi	803,827	2,234	806,061	2,066,681
Missouri	2,035,762	17,026	2,052,788	5,534,289
Montana	438,642	477	439,118	1,900,806
Nebraska	647,411	14,453	661,864	1,968,479
Nevada	1,052,571	7,618	1,060,188	2,546,583
New Hampshire	486,514	2,710	489,224	1,363,379
New Jersey	2,616,279	22,982	2,639,261	6,033,015
New Mexico	635,272	6,566	641,838	1,825,421
New York	4,425,722	18,669	4,444,391	11,389,158
North Carolina	3,390,087	44,478	3,434,565	8,527,388
North Dakota	224,952	3,929	228,881	903,668
Ohio	4,380,516	42,732	4,423,248	10,901,279
Oklahoma	1,249,360	5,774	1,255,134	3,706,624
Oregon	1,399,619	25,181	1,424,799	3,919,157
Pennsylvania	4,222,743	45,067	4,267,811	10,800,315
Rhode Island	389,425	7,083	396,508	868,942
South Carolina	1,724,396	76,847	1,801,243	4,516,143
South Dakota	337,367	5,502	342,868	1,280,969
Tennessee	2,137,154	48,074	2,185,229	5,817,887
Texas	8,223,542	90,080	8,313,623	23,007,146
Utah	910,430	11,216	921,645	2,430,275
Vermont	202,897	3,724	206,621	620,428
Virginia	3,145,500	41,526	3,187,026	7,647,692
Washington	2,877,533	66,381	2,943,914	7,377,028
West Virginia	525,159	11,488	536,646	1,668,113
Wisconsin	1,973,948	30,053	2,004,002	5,666,400
Wyoming	193,092	3,127	196,219	843,671
TOTAL	109,813,571	1,428,561	269,417,884	273,595,656

By Race

Here are up-to-date car ownership statistics by race.

If you'd like more information on statistics surrounding car ownership and race, read more at Governing.com, the University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley News.

• In 2006, researchers at UC Berkeley found black households were significantly less likely to own a car than were white households. This showed a growing gap between car ownership in white and black households that spanned various levels of income.
• 4.6 of White Americans reported living in a home without any access to a vehicle.
• 19% of African Americans reported living in a home without any vehicle access.
• 13.7% of Latino households reported not having any access to a vehicle.
• White Americans accounted for 64.7% of car buyers in 2015 in the United States.
• Hispanic people accounted for 12.2% of U.S. car buyers in 2015.
• In 2015, the purchasing power of African- and Asian-Americans put together made up less than 15% of total car buying power in the U.S.

By Age

Research published by the Federal Reserve shows the average age of a new car or truck buyer is around 53 years old.

Over the past decade, this age has increased a noticable amount, and among new vehicle buyers, the 55+ age group has a 15% increase since 2000.

	Males	Females
19 and Under	3.94%	3.8%
20-24	7.89%	7.5%
25-29	8.98%	8.8%
30-34	8.85%	8.7%
35-39	8.65%	8.6%
40-44	7.96%	7.9%
45-49	8.49%	8.4%
50-54	8.59%	8.5%
55-59	9.01%	9.0%
60-64	8.29%	8.4%
65-69	6.90%	7.1%
70-74	5.30%	5.5%
75-79	3.45%	3.6%
80-84	2.06%	2.3%
85 and older	1.64%	1.9%

• In 2000, the average age of new-vehicle buyers was 43 years old. Eleven years later, the average age is around 53 years old, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
• Between 2000 and 2015, the share of new vehicles purchased by those aged 16 to 34 decreased by around 6%, according to Hedges & Company.
• In approximately 15 years, the share of new vehicles purchased by people aged 35 to 49 decreased by 9%.
• Those aged 16 to 34 today are the least frequent buyers of new vehicles.
• The average age of new-vehicle buyers increased by almost 7 years between 2000 and 2015, according to Hedges & Company. The aging of the population reflected some of that increase, but also changes in buying patterns among people in various age groups.

By Income Level

There is a sharp increase in vehicle ownership once income surpasses $50,000. Low income earners find it very difficult to have their own vehicle largely due to the high running costs of owning a car.

By Gender

In the United States, men are much more likely to own cars than women, even though more women hold a valid driver's license as of 2019. As of 2020, women accounted for around 35.4% of car owners in the US.

93% of U.S. households had access to at least one car in 2019, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration.

Vehicle ownership is increasing in an analysis of a 5-year period from 2015 to 2019. Interestingly, the number of households with one or two vehicles has decreased over time.

On the other hand, there has been a consistent increase in vehicles of three or more per household.

This shows a strong indication that since American households are growign in size, the number of vehicles is also increasing to accommodate more people.

Studies also show an increase in income, allowing Americans to afford the car payment in addition to costs of insurance and maintenance.

Percentage Of Americans That Own More Than One Car

Only 9% of households in the United States don't own even a single car, which means 91% of all U.S. households own at least one car. Interestingly, 33% of households own a single car, leaving 33.1% that own two cars, 24% that own three, and 3.4% that own more than five vehicles.

U.S. Residential Vehicle Accessibility

	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
No vehicles available	8.6%	8.7%	8.8%	9.0%	9.1%
1 vehicle available	32.7%	33.0%	33.2%	33.6%	33.7%
2 vehicles available	37.2%	37.3%	37.4%	37.3%	37.4%
3+ vehicles available	21.4%	21.0%	20.6%	20.1%	19.8%

How much of the world’s population owns cars?

According to the most recent estimates, the world's population is 7.6 billion, and with an estimated 1.4 billion cars on the road, that means around 18% of the world's population owns cars.

Which country has the highest car ownership?

China has the highest car ownership in the world in 2021, with 302 million cars, and in 2009 the country became the world's largest new car market.

In fact, in 2011, 80 million cars and commercial vehicles were built, led by China, with 18.4 million motor vehicles manufactured that same year.

How many cars are owned globally?

There are 1.42 billion cars owned globally - including 1.06 billion passenger cars and 363 million commercial vehicles.

How big is the global car market?

Global car sales are expected to reach almost 70 million automobiles sold by the end of 2021, an increase from 2020.

China is the only country that surpasses the U.S. in car ownership. As of 2017, China has more vehicles per household than the U.S. In fact, more than a quarter of all vehicles sold in the world that year were sold in China. Chinese car buyers purchased 27.5 million vehicles that year alone, and the trend is expected to continue due to the country's fast-growing population.

Does everyone in America own a car?

No, not everyone in America owns a car, as around 9% of households in America do not own a car.

Are there more cars than people in America?

The overall number of cars in America is less than the country's population. With that said, the US has one of the highest numbers of motor vehicles per capita in the world (around 840 per 1,000 people).

However, the data on how many Americans own cars varies significantly based on the location.

For example, states such as Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming have a per capita availability of cars that's above 1, while other states like New York and New Jersey have it closer to 0.5.

Sources

• US Vehicle Registration Statistics
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Cox Automotive
• UC Berkeley News
• Governing.com
• Hedges & Company
• University of Michigan
• Statista
• Statista

Read More

• Average Miles Driven Per Year In The U.S.
• US Car Sales Statistics
• Self Driving Cars Statistics