Which states’ residents drive the most per capita?

Stacker
·5 min read

If a symbol of the American lifestyle exists, it might very well be the car. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, according to the Federal Highway Administration, the average American drives an average of 14,000 miles per year or just under 1,200 miles a month. That’s enough for a round-trip drive from Miami to Seattle twice—with a few hundred miles left over.

Another way to measure driving is with vehicle miles traveled per capita, the sum of annual miles traveled by vehicles divided by the state’s total population. Collectively, Americans drive roughly 3.2 trillion miles every year—which measures out to 9,780 miles per capita.

But people in different states drive different amounts. Population density and the cost of gas are among the factors influencing driving habits. CheapInsurance.com used data from the Federal Highway Administration and the Census Bureau to find out which state’s residents do the most driving. The data are ranked by the average number of vehicle-miles driven in each state, by capita. Driving data are from September 20211 through August 2023, and population data are from 2022.

Southern and Western states lead the rankings of where drivers spend more time behind the wheel. The top five states are more rural and have lower population densities than others, meaning they may have longer distances to travel for work or regular errands. It’s also likely they have less access to public transportation.

At the other end of the list, the five states with the lowest miles driven per capita are in the Northeast and along the Pacific coast. Some of them are home to cities with the best public transportation systems in the country.

#51. Washington DC

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 3.25 billion
—Per capita: 4,843.7

#50. New York

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 112.65 billion
—Per capita: 5,724.9

#49. Hawaii

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.48 billion
—Per capita: 7,278.2

#48. Rhode Island

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 8.10 billion
—Per capita: 7,407.7

#47. Washington

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 59.18 billion
—Per capita: 7,600.6

#46. Alaska

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 5.80 billion
—Per capita: 7,902.3

#45. Pennsylvania

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 103.89 billion
—Per capita: 8,008.7

#44. Illinois

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 101.66 billion
—Per capita: 8,079.8

#43. California

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 319.63 billion
—Per capita: 8,189.5

#42. Connecticut

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 30.40 billion
—Per capita: 8,383.7

#41. New Jersey

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 78.62 billion
—Per capita: 8,488.2

#40. Oregon

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 36.49 billion
—Per capita: 8,606.8

#39. Nevada

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 27.54 billion
—Per capita: 8,666.1

#38. Massachusetts

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 62.12 billion
—Per capita: 8,897.6

#37. West Virginia

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 16.35 billion
—Per capita: 9,211.6

#36. Maryland

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 57.68 billion
—Per capita: 9,355.9

#35. Colorado

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 54.67 billion
—Per capita: 9,361.6

#34. Virginia

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 83.20 billion
—Per capita: 9,580.9

#33. Ohio

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 113.94 billion
—Per capita: 9,692.2

#32. New Hampshire

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 13.61 billion
—Per capita: 9,753.9

#31. Delaware

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.02 billion
—Per capita: 9,839.0

#30. Michigan

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 99.17 billion
—Per capita: 9,883.6

#29. Texas

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 299.85 billion
—Per capita: 9,985.0

#28. Idaho

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 19.47 billion
—Per capita: 10,043.2

#27. Minnesota

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 57.78 billion
—Per capita: 10,106.9

#26. Utah

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 34.35 billion
—Per capita: 10,161.5

#25. Iowa

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 33.15 billion
—Per capita: 10,356.1

#24. Arizona

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 77.38 billion
—Per capita: 10,514.5

#23. Florida

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 234.29 billion
—Per capita: 10,532.4

#22. Nebraska

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 20.86 billion
—Per capita: 10,598.5

#21. South Dakota

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 9.75 billion
—Per capita: 10,718.6

#20. Vermont

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 6.97 billion
—Per capita: 10,774.8

#19. Maine

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 14.93 billion
—Per capita: 10,780.0

#18. Kansas

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 31.67 billion
—Per capita: 10,782.2

#17. Kentucky

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 50.26 billion
—Per capita: 11,138.4

#16. North Carolina

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 119.59 billion
—Per capita: 11,178.1

#15. Wisconsin

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 65.88 billion
—Per capita: 11,179.9

#14. Oklahoma

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 45.20 billion
—Per capita: 11,243.3

#13. South Carolina

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 60.26 billion
—Per capita: 11,407.8

#12. Georgia

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 125.48 billion
—Per capita: 11,498.3

#11. Indiana

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 80.70 billion
—Per capita: 11,810.9

#10. North Dakota

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 9.33 billion
—Per capita: 11,978.0

#9. Tennessee

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 84.72 billion
—Per capita: 12,014.5

#8. Montana

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 13.53 billion
—Per capita: 12,045.1

#7. Louisiana

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 55.33 billion
—Per capita: 12,054.7

#6. Arkansas

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 38.25 billion
—Per capita: 12,560.3

#5. Missouri

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 80.59 billion
—Per capita: 13,045.1

#4. New Mexico

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 27.62 billion
—Per capita: 13,068.4

#3. Mississippi

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 40.49 billion
—Per capita: 13,771.5

#2. Alabama

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 77.64 billion
—Per capita: 15,300.3

#1. Wyoming

Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.69 billion
—Per capita: 18,378.7

Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.

This story originally appeared on CheapInsurance.com and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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