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State & Urbanized Area Statistics

Using Data for Comparisons

Even when data are consistently collected and reported, users need to recognize that highway statistical information is not necessarily comparable across all States. For many of the data items reported in Highway Statistics (Highway Statistics 2000), a user should not expect to find consistency among all States, due to many State to State differences. When making State level comparisons, it is inappropriate to use these statistics without recognizing those differences that impact comparability.

Use of reported State maintenance expenditures provides a clear example. Maintenance expenditures per mile can vary between States depending upon a number of factors including differences such as climate and geography, how each State defines maintenance versus capital expenditures, traffic intensity and percent trucks, degree of urbanization, types of pavement being maintained, and the level of system responsibility retained by the State versus that given to other levels of government. It would be inappropriate, therefore, when using data from Highway Statistics to compare per mile maintenance costs across all State to draw any conclusions without taking into account the differences that should be expected in these parameters based upon differing State conditions.

If choosing to compare State data, the user must be prepared to thoughtfully select a set of peer States that have similar characteristics in relationship to the specific comparison being made. Improperly selected peer States are likely to yield invalid data comparisons.

Differences that the user needs to consider in determining suitability of peer States for data comparison purposes include characteristics such as urban/rural similarities, population density, degree of urbanization, climate, geography, differing State laws and practices that influence data definitions, administration control of the public road system, similarity of the basic State economies, traffic volume similarities, and the degree of State functional centralization.

Beginning in 1994, FHWA provided a two-page "Peer State" table in each edition of Highway Statistics that lists some of these characteristics so that the data user might be made more aware of possible problems that may arise when comparing State by State data.


Selected Statistics by State

StateResident PopulationDriving Age PopulationHighway Motor Fuel Use (000)Total Lane MilesTotal Road and Street MileageAnnual VMT (Millions)Total Highway FatalitiesFatalities (per 100 million VMT)State Motor Fuel Taxes and Other Related ReceiptsTotal Highway Capital Outlay (000)Total Disburse-ments for Highways (000)Payments the HTF (000)Apportion-ments from the Federal HTF (000)
AL4,4473,4513,148,522 195,298 94,311 56,534 995 1.76 579,812 719,722 1,246,223 638,977 589,698
AK626458 338,750 25,991 12,823 4,613 103 2.23 27,817 321,612 501,359 65,940 378,674
AZ5,1303,9082,999,157 118,437 55,195 49,768 1,036 2.08565,982 960,137 2,040,266 583,068 494,747
AR2,6732,073 1,959,484 198,161 97,600 29,167 652 2.24 398,717 468,053 817,387 415,571 397,312
CA33,87125,599 17,017,620 371,689 168,076 306,649 3,753 1.22 2,945,156 2,721,334 6,750,225 3,025,732 2,795,250
CO4,3013,322 2,450,177 176,993 85,409 41,771 681 1.63 521,721 730,129 1,391,910 423,763 367,548
CT3,4052,651 1,697,878 44,474 20,845 30,756 342 1.11 545,671 568,931 1,304,378 312,507 439,532
DE783610 429,413 12,558 5,779 8,240 123 1.49 103,965 297,648 594,641 79,594 128,749
DC572469 192,440 3,774 1,425 3,498 49 1.40 31,727 164,529 244,216 33,728 117,381
FL15,98212,742 8,648,333 253,349 116,649 152,136 2,999 1.97 1,612,070 2,448,336 4,207,948 1,554,162 1,390,224
GA8,1866,251 6,030,954 241,087 114,727 105,010 1,541 1.47 431,243 1,106,272 1,567,212 1,189,533 1,023,963
HI1,211949 417,929 9,255 4,281 8,543 131 1.53 68,872 148,304 272,268 69,351 154,425
ID1,293969 847,974 95,178 46,456 13,534 276 2.04 202,874 260,689 491,604 178,492 253,889
IL12,4199,530 6,293,151 288,879 138,372 102,866 1,418 1.38 1,231,728 1,836,253 3,446,580 1,053,743 986,434
IN6,0804,682 4,371,604 193,637 93,608 70,862 875 1.23 746,424 1,035,129 1,932,198 767,408 688,839
IA2,9262,281 1,993,887 232,920 113,377 29,433 445 1.51 394,458 696,081 1,493,639 353,281 345,026
KS2,6882,058 1,676,445 274,014 134,582 28,130 461 1.64 358,989 697,463 1,206,470 346,783 338,426
KY4,0413,161 2,850,498 164,231 79,267 46,803 820 1.75 439,785 1,078,252 1,650,763 577,037 525,325
LA4,4683,395 2,742,677 127,883 60,900 40,849 937 2.29 544,329 767,993 1,300,553 527,753 464,400
ME1,2741,010 847,317 46,346 22,670 14,190 169 1.19 174,259 224,728 487,571 162,787 153,306
MD5,2964,085 2,889,534 67,017 30,494 50,174 588 1.17 643,009 594,511 1,599,413 541,915 476,674
MA6,3495,008 3,122,005 74,505 35,311 52,796 433 0.82 644,389 2,238,138 3,524,344 545,690 536,063
MI9,9387,628 5,822,391 256,155 121,979 97,792 1,382 1.41 1,047,898 2,136,479 2,747,958 1,074,219 961,800
MN4,9193,783 3,154,032 271,176 132,250 52,601 625 1.19 595,997 697,358 1,692,476 403,760 439,011
MS2,8442,160 2,035,655 151,701 73,498 35,536 949 2.67 397,597 697,252 1,039,192 428,679 365,747
MO5,5954,292 3,977,442 251,209 123,039 67,083 1,157 1.72 674,002 1,006,426 1,818,178 754,241 719,347
MT902701 660,133 141,978 69,567 9,882 237 2.40 195,390 300,018 473,807 140,430 301,755
NE1,7111,315 1,188,911 188,273 92,791 18,081 276 1.53 307,043 383,934 744,905 241,167 224,419
NV1,9981,538 1,188,724 79,050 37,854 17,639 323 1.83 305,124 424,280 650,984 215,455 228,039
NH1,235961 759,891 31,366 15,211 12,021 126 1.05 136,478 189,689 387,468 137,452 148,580
NJ8,4146,545 4,748,655 78,163 36,022 67,446 731 1.08 525,253 1,994,253 4,502,639 865,079 781,862
NM1,8191,370 1,285,461 124,841 59,927 22,760 430 1.89 238,882 463,011 1,162,422 269,496 307,801
NY18,97614,797 6,516,320 239,035 112,783 129,057 1,458 1.13 1,406,054 2,582,541 5,306,825 1,249,954 1,485,648
NC8,0496,291 5,088,090 209,335 99,813 89,504 1,472 1.64 1,054,849 1,464,209 2,621,330 918,638 825,844
ND642502 483,722 175,349 86,609 7,217 86 1.19 102,201 180,072 384,538 101,377 194,296
OH11,3538,790 6,570,881 248,722 116,964 105,898 1,351 1.28 1,484,302 1,650,422 3,350,560 1,158,013 1,006,181
OK3,4502,666 2,478,132 232,710 112,634 43,355 652 1.50 414,272 809,152 1,417,329 500,974 446,540
OR3,4212,673 1,919,249 136,866 66,902 35,010 451 1.29 385,359 357,751 1,010,377 381,740 384,990
PA12,2819,694 6,323,548 249,169 119,642 102,337 1,520 1.49 1,698,159 2,323,646 4,516,621 1,238,907 1,449,850
RI1,048827 450,802 12,812 6,052 8,359 80 0.96 134,571 129,527 255,637 82,095 180,896
SC4,0123,115 2,831,976 136,123 64,921 45,538 1,065 2.34 467,948 502,049 970,218 554,376 483,066
SD754577 562,591 169,060 83,471 8,432 173 2.05 116,489 346,269 465,690 101,194 211,222
TN5,6894,4463,759,136 183,640 87,419 65,732 1,306 1.99 777,581 836,144 1,439,811 759,820 685,545
TX20,85115,61813,252,841 639,853 301,035 220,064 3,769 1.71 2,700,214 3,421,427 5,664,524 2,573,239 2,199,108
UT2,2331,5991,333,773 87,435 41,852 22,597 373 1.65 314,163 691,200 1,072,340 249,715 283,695
VT608479 403,551 29,359 14,273 6,811 79 1.16 87,255 138,578 287,124 70,411 133,812
VA7,0785,529 4,575,296 152,328 70,393 74,801 930 1.24 774,161 1,270,665 2,678,129 867,264 775,292
WA5,8944,553 3,180,398 167,211 80,209 53,330 632 1.19 725,356 704,342 1,871,259 588,415 544,878
WV1,8081,455 1,091,359 76,671 37,277 19,242 410 2.13 295,148 673,882 1,170,434 220,408 329,354
WI5,3634,157 3,061,051 231,340 112,359 57,266 799 1.40 795,105 886,798 1,663,266 602,560 572,783
WY493382 590,437 56,780 27,326 8,090 152 1.88 100,435 270,786 395,725 151,317 228,408
U.S.281,399217,105162,260,196 8,223,386 3,936,229 2,749,803 41,821 1.5231,470,283 47,616,404 89,832,934 30,347,210 29,945,654

Population, Drivers, Vehicles, Fuel and Travel by State

StateRegistered Vehicles Total Licensed DriversLicensed Driver per 1,000 Driving Age Population)Motor Vehicles per 1,000 PopulationMotor Vehicles per Licensed DriversPersons Registered Motor Vehicle)Gallons of fuel per vehiclesMiles GallonAnnual Miles per VehicleVehicle Miles per CapitaVehicle Miles per Licensed Driver
AL3,960,1493,521,4441,0208911.121.1279517.9614,27612,71316,054
AK594,399465,2561,0169501.281.0557013.627,7617,3699,915
AZ3,794,5383,433,9958797401.101.3579016.5913,1169,70114,493
AR1,840,1931,947,8679406880.941.45106514.8915,85010,91214,974
CA27,697,92321,243,9398308181.301.2261418.0211,0719,05314,435
CO3,626,0123,107,2589358431.171.1967617.0511,5209,71213,443
CT2,853,4492,652,5931,0018381.081.1959518.1110,7799,03311,595
DE630,446556,6889138051.131.2468119.1913,07010,52414,802
DC242,081348,2167424230.702.3679518.1814,4506,11510,045
FL11,781,01012,853,4281,0097370.921.3673417.5912,9149,51911,836
GA7,155,0065,550,1768888741.291.1484317.4114,67612,82818,920
HI737,551769,3838116090.961.6456720.4411,5837,05511,104
ID1,177,700883,5469129111.331.1072015.9611,49210,46715,318
IL8,972,5847,961,0468357221.131.3870116.3511,4648,28312,921
IN5,570,9423,976,2418499161.401.0978516.2112,72011,65517,821
IA3,106,2231,952,5088561,0621.590.9464214.769,47510,05915,074
KS2,296,1351,908,1179278541.201.1773016.7812,25110,46514,742
KY2,826,4032,694,4698526991.051.43100916.4216,55911,58217,370
LA3,556,9822,759,1208137961.291.2677114.8911,4849,14314,805
ME1,024,096920,2359118041.111.2482716.7513,85611,13815,420
MD3,847,5383,382,4518287261.141.3875117.3613,0419,47414,834
MA5,265,3994,489,6958978291.171.2159316.9110,0278,31611,759
MI8,435,7216,925,2469088491.221.1869016.8011,5939,84014,121
MN4,629,9402,940,7897779411.571.0668116.6811,36110,69317,887
MS2,289,4112,007,7469308051.141.2488917.4615,52212,49517,699
MO4,579,6293,856,2718988191.191.2286916.8714,64811,99017,396
MT1,026,226678,8999681,1381.510.8864314.979,62910,95614,556
NE1,618,9331,195,2199099461.351.0673415.2111,16810,56815,128
NV1,219,7251,370,6438916100.891.6497514.8414,4618,82812,869
NH1,051,751929,6309678521.131.1772315.8211,4309,73412,931
NJ6,390,0315,654,9738647591.131.3274314.2010,5558,01611,927
NM1,528,5101,239,0439048401.231.1984117.7114,89012,51218,369
NY10,234,53110,871,3447355390.941.8563719.8112,6106,80111,871
NC6,222,5035,690,4949057731.091.2981817.5914,38411,12015,729
ND693,860458,9449141,0811.510.9369714.9210,40111,24115,725
OH10,467,4768,205,5249349221.281.0862816.1210,1179,32812,906
OK3,014,4912,295,0368618741.311.1482217.5014,38212,56718,891
OR3,021,5742,495,0599338831.211.1363518.2411,58710,23414,032
PA9,259,9678,229,4908497541.131.3368316.1811,0528,33312,435
RI759,570654,0357917251.161.3859318.5411,0057,97612,781
SC3,094,7292,842,5539137711.091.3091516.0814,71511,35016,020
SD792,509543,8179421,0511.460.9571014.9910,64011,18315,505
TN4,819,7994,251,2289568471.131.1878017.4913,63811,55415,462
TX14,070,09613,462,0238626751.051.4894216.6115,64110,55416,347
UT1,627,6061,463,3669157291.111.3781916.9413,88410,12015,442
VT514,883506,0851,0578471.021.1878416.8813,22811,20213,458
VA6,046,1274,836,9938758541.251.1775716.3512,37210,56815,464
WA5,115,8664,154,5019128681.231.1562216.7710,4249,04812,837
WV1,441,7351,347,2079267971.071.2575717.6313,34610,64314,283
WI4,365,5253,770,4539078141.161.2370118.7113,11810,67815,188
WY585,690370,7409711,1881.580.84100813.7013,81316,41021,821
U.S.221,475,173190,625,0238787871.161.2773316.9512,4169,77214,425

Urbanized Areas with Population Above 750,000

Urbanized AreaLocation Prime StateLocation Other State(s)Estd. Urbanized Population (1,000)Federal-Aid Urbanized Land Area (Sq. Miles)Persons per Square MileTotal Highway MileageTotal & Expressway MileageTotal Freeway Miles per Urbanized PopulationTotal Highway Vehicle Miles (000)Total Freeway Vehicle Miles (000)Daily Vehicle Miles Per Capita% of Travel Served by FreewaysAverage AADT on Freeways
New York Northeastern NJNYNJ17,0893,9624,31337,6231,13066.1263,905101,29915.438.489,639
Los AngelesCA 12,3842,2315,55126,94965252.7280,793126,49822.745.1193,875
Chicago - Northwestern IN 1/ILIN7,7022,7302,82123,76447762.0158,24048,27620.530.5101,167
Philadelphia 1/PANJ4,0681,3473,02013,41734785.477,00524,48318.931.870,457
San Francisco - OaklandCA 4,0221,2033,3439,31633082.090,27747,98222.453.1145,461
DetroitMI 3,8361,3042,94213,80828373.892,35931,12524.133.7109,882
Dallas - Ft. WorthTX 3,7461,7122,18817,830594158.5116,54849,19731.142.282,872
WashingtonDCMD, VA3,6179993,62110,32930684.682,95934,53322.941.6112,852
AtlantaGA 2,9771,7571,69413,145306102.9100,69342,48833.842.2138,701
BostonMA 2,9171,1382,56310,14821172.359,36122,89020.338.6108,468
San DiegoCA 2,6537333,6195,96524692.862,80933,74523.753.7137,029
HoustonTX 2,4871,5371,61815,251368148.091,88339,19536.942.7106,458
Minneapolis - St. PaulMN 2,4751,1922,07610,919316127.860,72027,09424.544.685,640
Miami - HialeahFL 2,2703536,4315,60712053.143,57713,58419.231.2112,782
PhoenixAZ 2,1381,0542,02810,23216376.458,40519,42427.333.3118,882
BaltimoreMD 2,1077122,9596,608278131.945,02122,65921.450.381,550
St. LouisMOIL2,0441,1241,8198,064320156.758,76125,73928.743.880,362
SeattleWA 1,9948442,3637,101241121.051,43024,00825.846.799,474
DenverCO 1,9937202,7687,007209104.643,99716,90422.138.481,063
Tampa - St. PetersburgFL 1,9536503,0057,53912463.744,4738,35622.818.867,181
ClevelandOH 1,7838382,1285,530227127.337,80017,28421.245.776,169
San JoseCA 1,6263654,4554,11112677.438,34316,52923.643.1131,322
Ft. Lauderdale - HollywoodFL 1,6013274,8964,20710967.837,33512,83223.334.4118,225
PittsburghPA 1,5691,0861,4458,441283180.535,63211,12822.731.239,295
MilwaukeeWI 1,5325182,9585,09511172.831,8889,70120.830.487,013
Norfolk - VA Beach - Newport NewsVA 1,5079521,5835,512173114.834,58811,26923.032.665,150
Kansas CityMOKS1,4221,0361,3737,545374263.341,18719,30729.046.951,566
SacramentoCA 1,3943833,6404,56910575.629,72412,76921.343.0121,177
Riverside - San BernardinoCA 1,3405142,6074,735139103.932,87616,60124.550.5119,245
Portland - VancouverORWA1,3384692,8535,615137102.431,51712,59523.640.091,900
San JuanPR 1,3032744,7552,8116650.617,4156,18713.435.593,821
Las VegasNV 1,2562704,6522,9637761.324,1286,84819.228.488,954
CincinnatiOHKY1,1766301,8674,887176149.632,60515,74427.748.389,495
Orlando 1/FL 1,1603952,9373,610156134.932,2889,53227.829.560,915
San AntonioTX 1,1434852,3575,002211184.433,44515,77529.347.274,837
Buffalo - Niagara FallsNY 1,1125641,9723,985139124.721,4486,36519.329.745,900
Oklahoma CityOK 1,0836471,6744,714150138.725,9808,93224.034.459,444
New OrleansLA 1,0652703,9443,2907570.315,4145,61314.536.474,954
W. Palm Beach - Boca Raton - Delray BchFL 1,0413073,3912,5918783.625,2778,36824.333.196,167
ColumbusOH 9404761,9753,426149158.124,73111,89526.348.180,044
MemphisTNAR, MS9194202,1883,3699299.822,7246,88724.730.375,077
IndianapolisIN 9154222,1684,228130141.829,39811,25932.138.386,750
Providence - PawtucketRIMA9075151,7614,399120131.820,4468,46522.541.470,833
JacksonvilleFL 8695081,7113,664156180.024,5539,83628.340.162,896
Salt Lake CityUT 8303532,3513,3347994.620,3966,41024.631.481,618
LouisvilleKYIN8233842,1433,763137166.922,79410,04027.744.073,103
TulsaOK 8033052,6332,761112139.818,0066,26722.434.855,813

* Annual average daily traffic.

1/ Some urbanized area data are inconsistently reported; for example, the Pennsylvania portion of Wilmington, Delaware is reported with Philadelphia; Kissimmee, Florida is reported with Orlando; and the Illinois portions of Aurora, Danville, Elgin, Crystal Lake, Joliet and Round Lake Beach are reported with Chicago. Other anomalies may exist.

Source: All data reported by States through the Highway Performance Monitoring System. Numbers may differ from subsequently published 1990 Census data.

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