New Study Reveals Which US Cities Have the Most and Fewest EV Chargers

The United States is on track to have nearly 300,000 public electric vehicle chargers by the end of this year, but a new study shows they are not spread out evenly across the country. According to research by iSeeCars, the national average will reach 1,143 residents per charger by the end of the year, which marks a 13.2 percent improvement.

Top Cities

California holds four of the top 10 spots for EV-friendly communities. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer stated that California's favorable weather and tech communities help drive its demand and charger buildout, while high-ranking cities like New York, Boston, and Denver show strong support outside that state. Los Angeles has the highest total number of chargers with 36,318, giving it 500 residents per charger and ranking third overall. However, the combined area of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose ranks first with 22,430 chargers and just 334 residents per charger. San Diego also makes the list with 7,582 chargers, resulting in 432 residents per charger.

Lowest Cities And States

Many major American cities lag behind in public charging options. Louisville, Kentucky, has only 621 chargers, which leaves 2,904 residents per station. Milwaukee follows closely with 852 chargers, translating to 2,716 residents per charger. San Antonio and Houston also feature poor ratios with 2,666 and 2,453 residents per charger respectively. When looking at entire states, Alaska tops the list for having the fewest chargers. Other states with very low charger counts include the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, West Virginia, Mississippi, Nebraska, Delaware, and Idaho.

Context

Electric vehicle adoption depends heavily on reliable public charging networks to ease range anxiety for drivers. Colder climates like those in Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas face extra challenges because harsh winter weather reduces battery efficiency. As the country builds out more Level 2 and DC fast chargers, the gap between well-equipped urban centers and underserved regions remains a major challenge for the auto industry.