With the national average price for regular gasoline topping $4 per gallon,[1] many households may be looking to alternatives such as electric vehicles (EVs). What does EV penetration look like in the U.S.? How does Metro Atlanta compare to other top metros?

To answer these questions, we use data from the 2025 American Community Survey 1-year release,[2] which included a new question on EVs.[3]

Figure 1 presents a map showing the percentage of households with at least one EV by state. Categories are based on the Jenks “natural breaks” method, which helps highlight meaningful differences and identify outliers.

Figure 1: Percent of Households with an EV by State

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-Year Estimates, Table B25147

As this map shows, California is a clear outlier, with more than one in eight households (13.8%) possessing at least one EV. EV penetration is highest in the west, particularly Washington state (8.9%), Hawaii (8.5%), and Nevada (8.2%), as well as in parts of the northeast such as Vermont (7.7%). It is lowest in the mountain west such as North Dakota (1.3%) and Wyoming (1.6%) as well as in parts of the deep south such as Louisiana (1.6%) and Mississippi (1.8%). Georgia, at 4.5% EV penetration, is fairly close to the median: ranked 21 out of 51 (including the District of Columbia).

California’s stricter emissions standards almost certainly contribute to its high rate of adoption. Fuel costs likely play a role as well: the correlation between gasoline price[4] and state-level EV penetration is moderately strong, at .67.

How does metro Atlanta compare to its peers? Figure 2 shows the percentage of households with at least one EV for the top 20 metros by population. The reference line denotes the nationwide EV adoption rate of 5.5%.

Figure 2: Percent of Households among the 20 Most Populous Metros with an EV

California’s four top-20 metros, along with Seattle, occupy the top five slots. Oil rich Dallas and Houston, as well as the Motor City, occupy the bottom three spots. With 6.0% of households reporting at least one EV, Atlanta is close to the median. That also makes EV ownership a bit more common in metro Atlanta than in the rest of the state.

How does EV ownership vary within our region? We’ll take that up in an upcoming post.

Notes

[1] According to the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Fuel Prices(external link) website, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.2258 as of October 29, 2026.

[2] Because the question has only been asked for a single year, these data only exist for larger geographic units (population of 65,000 or more) for which 1-year estimates are available. That allows us to examine states, metro areas, and counties. It will be another four years before we can dig down to the Census tract level, but don’t fret– we’ll be ready when the data are available.

[3] The precise question wording is “Do you or any member of this household own or lease an electric vehicle? Include both all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.” Note that the question, as worded, allows us to know presence or absence of an EV in a household but not how many of that household’s vehicles are EVs. Also note that plug-in hybrids, which can run some distance on a charge before switching to gasoline as a hybrid vehicle, are included in the definition of EV in this question.

[4] Measured as the average price of one gallon of regular fuel on October 29, 2026 according to the AAA.