Our Nation’s Highways 2026
Vehicles
Motor vehicles play a significant role in American history and culture. In 2024, the United States had 298 million registered motor vehicles. With a population of 339 million, this amounts to about 88 vehicles for every 100 residents. These vehicles, which are registered across the 50 States and D.C., include automobiles, pick-ups and large trucks, buses, and motorcycles. As discussed in the previous chapter on travel, Americans rely heavily on motor vehicles, particularly privately operated vehicles, for travel. An estimated 92 percent of households have at least one vehicle available for personal use, and privately operated cars, SUVs, pick-ups, vans, and motorcycles account for 87 percent of person trips. Other motor vehicles including school buses, public and commuter buses, taxicabs, and other ride-sharing services account for another 3 percent of person trips. This chapter examines changes in the number of registered vehicles over time, differences across States, characteristics of privately operated vehicles, and changes in overall vehicle use.
Drive Through History
APRIL 15, 1901
New York becomes the first State to require all owners of motor vehicles to register, identifying themselves and their vehicles. At the time it affected less than 1,000 vehicles compared to the 21 million New York vehicles registered in 2024.
Registrations Over Time and Across the U.S.
The number of registered private, commercial, and public motor vehicles in the U.S. increased significantly over time from 8,000 vehicles in 1900 to an all-time high of 298 million in 2024. As seen in Table 4-1, the number of registered vehicles in the United States has increased steadily from 1945 until today. Over the past 50 years, the number of vehicles increased in all but five years (1991, 2002, 2009, 2010, and 2020). From 1974 to 2024, the U.S. added 168 million vehicles or about 3.4 million per year. However, in 2024 the number of registered vehicles increased by 13 million (5 percent) over 2023.
Registered Motor Vehicles, 1900-2024
| Year | Registered Vehicles (in millions) |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.01 |
| 1901 | 0.01 |
| 1902 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 0.08 |
| 1906 | 0.11 |
| 1907 | 0.14 |
| 1908 | 0.20 |
| 1909 | 0.31 |
| 1910 | 0.47 |
| 1911 | 0.64 |
| 1912 | 0.94 |
| 1913 | 1.3 |
| 1914 | 1.8 |
| 1915 | 2.5 |
| 1916 | 3.6 |
| 1917 | 5.1 |
| 1918 | 6.2 |
| 1919 | 7.6 |
| 1920 | 9.2 |
| 1921 | 10 |
| 1922 | 12 |
| 1923 | 15 |
| 1924 | 18 |
| 1925 | 20 |
| 1926 | 22 |
| 1927 | 23 |
| 1928 | 25 |
| 1929 | 27 |
| 1930 | 27 |
| 1931 | 26 |
| 1932 | 24 |
| 1933 | 24 |
| 1934 | 25 |
| 1935 | 27 |
| 1936 | 29 |
| 1937 | 30 |
| 1938 | 30 |
| 1939 | 31 |
| 1940 | 32 |
| 1941 | 35 |
| 1942 | 33 |
| 1943 | 31 |
| 1944 | 30 |
| 1945 | 31 |
| 1946 | 34 |
| 1947 | 38 |
| 1948 | 41 |
| 1949 | 45 |
| 1950 | 49 |
| 1951 | 52 |
| 1952 | 53 |
| 1953 | 56 |
| 1954 | 59 |
| 1955 | 63 |
| 1956 | 65 |
| 1957 | 67 |
| 1958 | 68 |
| 1959 | 71 |
| 1960 | 74 |
| 1961 | 76 |
| 1962 | 79 |
| 1963 | 83 |
| 1964 | 86 |
| 1965 | 90 |
| 1966 | 94 |
| 1967 | 97 |
| 1968 | 101 |
| 1969 | 105 |
| 1970 | 108 |
| 1971 | 113 |
| 1972 | 119 |
| 1973 | 126 |
| 1974 | 130 |
| 1975 | 133 |
| 1976 | 139 |
| 1977 | 142 |
| 1978 | 148 |
| 1979 | 152 |
| 1980 | 156 |
| 1981 | 158 |
| 1982 | 160 |
| 1983 | 164 |
| 1984 | 166 |
| 1985 | 172 |
| 1986 | 176 |
| 1987 | 179 |
| 1988 | 184 |
| 1989 | 187 |
| 1990 | 189 |
| 1991 | 188 |
| 1992 | 190 |
| 1993 | 194 |
| 1994 | 198 |
| 1995 | 202 |
| 1996 | 207 |
| 1997 | 208 |
| 1998 | 212 |
| 1999 | 216 |
| 2000 | 221 |
| 2001 | 230 |
| 2002 | 230 |
| 2003 | 231 |
| 2004 | 237 |
| 2005 | 241 |
| 2006 | 244 |
| 2007 | 247 |
| 2008 | 248 |
| 2009 | 246 |
| 2010 | 242 |
| 2011 | 253 |
| 2012 | 254 |
| 2013 | 256 |
| 2014 | 260 |
| 2015 | 264 |
| 2016 | 269 |
| 2017 | 272 |
| 2018 | 274 |
| 2019 | 276 |
| 2020 | 276 |
| 2021 | 281 |
| 2022 | 282 |
| 2023 | 285 |
| 2024 | 298 |
While the number of registered vehicles has increased steadily, these vehicles are not evenly dispersed across the 50 States. Table 4-2 shows that the registered vehicles per resident varies significantly from State to State, from 0.43 vehicles per person in Delaware and the District of Columbia to 2.18 vehicles per person in Montana. Montana is the only State with more than two vehicles per person, and the neighboring States of South Dakota and Wyoming are the only additional States with 1.5 vehicles or more per person. Delaware and the District of Columbia are the only jurisdictions with less than 0.5 vehicles per person — less than one vehicle for every two residents.
Registered Vehicles per Capita, 2024
| State | Vehicles per Person |
|---|---|
| Montana | 2.18 |
| South Dakota | 1.53 |
| Wyoming | 1.50 |
| North Dakota | 1.36 |
| Iowa | 1.19 |
| Alabama | 1.10 |
| Arkansas | 1.09 |
| New York | 1.06 |
| Vermont | 1.04 |
| Minnesota | 1.03 |
| Idaho | 1.02 |
| Kentucky | 1.00 |
| Oregon | 1.00 |
| Tennessee | 1.00 |
| Louisiana | 0.99 |
| Nebraska | 0.99 |
| New Hampshire | 0.99 |
| Wisconsin | 0.98 |
| Ohio | 0.96 |
| Alaska | 0.95 |
| Michigan | 0.95 |
| Washington | 0.95 |
| South Carolina | 0.93 |
| Utah | 0.92 |
| Virginia | 0.92 |
| New Mexico | 0.91 |
| Oklahoma | 0.91 |
| Hawaii | 0.90 |
| Colorado | 0.89 |
| Arizona | 0.88 |
| Indiana | 0.88 |
| Missouri | 0.87 |
| Maine | 0.86 |
| Florida | 0.84 |
| Georgia | 0.84 |
| West Virginia | 0.84 |
| Illinois | 0.83 |
| North Carolina | 0.81 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.81 |
| Maryland | 0.80 |
| California | 0.79 |
| Connecticut | 0.77 |
| Mississippi | 0.76 |
| Rhode Island | 0.76 |
| Texas | 0.76 |
| Nevada | 0.73 |
| Massachusetts | 0.71 |
| Kansas | 0.68 |
| New Jersey | 0.66 |
| Delaware | 0.43 |
| District of Columbia | 0.43 |
| U.S. | 0.88 |
Privately Operated Vehicles
Among the registered motor vehicles available to American households for regular use are cars, SUVs, vans, pickups, and motorcycles. As indicated above, these vehicles are used for 87 percent of trips. However, not all households have access to the same number of vehicles. As shown in Table 4-3, the most common number of vehicles is two, which accounts for 38 percent of households. Two is also the median number of vehicles per household. An estimated 8 percent of households do not have access to a motor vehicle while an estimated 7 percent of households have four or more vehicles.
Number of Vehicles Available to Households, 2022
| Household Vehicles | Percent of Households |
|---|---|
| 0 | 8% |
| 1 | 33% |
| 2 | 38% |
| 3 | 13% |
| 4+ | 7% |
These privately operated vehicles also vary substantially in terms of their ages. As shown in Table 4-4, the largest group of vehicles is between five and nine years old, accounting for 30 percent of vehicles, and the median vehicle age is eight years. The youngest category includes the 10 percent of vehicles that are one year old or less, and the oldest category contains the 3 percent of vehicles that are 30 years old or older.
Percent of Vehicles by Age, 2022
| Vehicle Age in Years | Percent of Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 0-4 | 26% |
| 5-9 | 30% |
| 10-14 | 18% |
| 15-19 | 14% |
| 20-24 | 7% |
| 25+ | 5% |
Vehicle Use
One way to estimate just how much Americans use their vehicles is to divide the number of miles traveled on our roads by the number of registered vehicles to get an average number of miles per vehicle. In 2024, dividing the 3.3 trillion miles traveled by the 298 million registered vehicles gives 11,071 miles per vehicle. Vehicle use fell rapidly from 1900 until 1920, when it reached a low of 5,152 miles per vehicle. Vehicle use rose to almost 10,000 miles per vehicle in 1946 after a significant drop during World War II. Vehicle use remained around 10,000 miles per vehicle until it began to rise rapidly in the mid-1980s. After reaching a peak in 1998 at 12,211 miles per vehicle, vehicle use began a slight downward trend. It experienced a drop to 10,523 miles per vehicle in 2020 but has been over 11,000 since 2021.
Average Miles Traveled per Registered Vehicle, 1900-2024
| Year | Miles Traveled per Vehicle |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 12,500 |
| 1901 | 11,486 |
| 1902 | 13,478 |
| 1903 | 13,973 |
| 1904 | 13,565 |
| 1905 | 12,310 |
| 1906 | 11,471 |
| 1907 | 10,056 |
| 1908 | 9,325 |
| 1909 | 8,301 |
| 1910 | 7,641 |
| 1911 | 7,881 |
| 1912 | 7,828 |
| 1913 | 8,147 |
| 1914 | 7,975 |
| 1915 | 7,840 |
| 1916 | 7,148 |
| 1917 | 5,994 |
| 1918 | 6,003 |
| 1919 | 5,822 |
| 1920 | 5,152 |
| 1921 | 5,244 |
| 1922 | 5,516 |
| 1923 | 5,628 |
| 1924 | 5,952 |
| 1925 | 6,096 |
| 1926 | 6,339 |
| 1927 | 6,800 |
| 1928 | 7,001 |
| 1929 | 7,404 |
| 1930 | 7,713 |
| 1931 | 8,284 |
| 1932 | 8,221 |
| 1933 | 8,305 |
| 1934 | 8,533 |
| 1935 | 8,610 |
| 1936 | 8,844 |
| 1937 | 8,986 |
| 1938 | 9,096 |
| 1939 | 9,204 |
| 1940 | 9,311 |
| 1941 | 9,561 |
| 1942 | 8,127 |
| 1943 | 6,740 |
| 1944 | 6,979 |
| 1945 | 8,061 |
| 1946 | 9,917 |
| 1947 | 9,801 |
| 1948 | 9,686 |
| 1949 | 9,498 |
| 1950 | 9,321 |
| 1951 | 9,460 |
| 1952 | 9,642 |
| 1953 | 9,684 |
| 1954 | 9,605 |
| 1955 | 9,661 |
| 1956 | 9,637 |
| 1957 | 9,609 |
| 1958 | 9,732 |
| 1959 | 9,817 |
| 1960 | 9,732 |
| 1961 | 9,708 |
| 1962 | 9,687 |
| 1963 | 9,737 |
| 1964 | 9,805 |
| 1965 | 9,826 |
| 1966 | 9,675 |
| 1967 | 9,751 |
| 1968 | 9,864 |
| 1969 | 9,885 |
| 1970 | 9,976 |
| 1971 | 10,133 |
| 1972 | 10,279 |
| 1973 | 10,099 |
| 1974 | 9,493 |
| 1975 | 9,627 |
| 1976 | 9,774 |
| 1977 | 9,978 |
| 1978 | 10,077 |
| 1979 | 9,722 |
| 1980 | 9,458 |
| 1981 | 9,477 |
| 1982 | 9,644 |
| 1983 | 9,760 |
| 1984 | 10,017 |
| 1985 | 10,020 |
| 1986 | 10,143 |
| 1987 | 10,453 |
| 1988 | 10,721 |
| 1989 | 10,932 |
| 1990 | 11,107 |
| 1991 | 11,294 |
| 1992 | 11,558 |
| 1993 | 11,595 |
| 1994 | 11,683 |
| 1995 | 11,793 |
| 1996 | 11,813 |
| 1997 | 12,107 |
| 1998 | 12,211 |
| 1999 | 12,208 |
| 2000 | 12,164 |
| 2001 | 11,879 |
| 2002 | 12,171 |
| 2003 | 12,207 |
| 2004 | 12,200 |
| 2005 | 12,082 |
| 2006 | 12,017 |
| 2007 | 11,915 |
| 2008 | 11,631 |
| 2009 | 11,618 |
| 2010 | 11,866 |
| 2011 | 11,652 |
| 2012 | 11,707 |
| 2013 | 11,679 |
| 2014 | 11,621 |
| 2015 | 11,742 |
| 2016 | 11,810 |
| 2017 | 11,789 |
| 2018 | 11,843 |
| 2019 | 11,797 |
| 2020 | 10,523 |
| 2021 | 11,140 |
| 2022 | 11,327 |
| 2023 | 11,408 |
| 2024 | 11,071 |