Contents
- US passenger vehicle ownership statistics: Household availability over time
- US passenger vehicle ownership statistics by household vehicle count
- Zero-vehicle households by metropolitan area size
- Household fleet mix and vehicle age
- Regional averages and state automobile registrations
- Sources
US passenger vehicle ownership statistics: Household availability over time
Household vehicle availability changed substantially over the decades covered by the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). In the 1969 survey, 20.6% of U.S. households had no vehicle available. That share fell to 15.3% in 1977, 13.5% in 1983, and 9.2% in 1990. It reached 8.1% in 1995 and remained at 8.1% in 2001.
The later observations show a comparatively narrow range: households without a vehicle made up 8.7% in 2009, 8.9% in 2017, and 8.4% in 2022. The long-run decline is clear, while the recent survey results cluster around eight to nine percent. These are survey estimates of households with a vehicle available, not counts of vehicles registered or owned by individuals. The report also notes that the 1969 household vehicle measure excluded pickups and other light trucks, a definitional difference to bear in mind when comparing that first observation with later years.
| Survey year | Households with no vehicle available |
|---|---|
| 1969 | 20.6% |
| 1977 | 15.3% |
| 1983 | 13.5% |
| 1990 | 9.2% |
| 1995 | 8.1% |
| 2001 | 8.1% |
| 2009 | 8.7% |
| 2017 | 8.9% |
| 2022 | 8.4% |
Source: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Summary of Travel Trends, Table 6-2.
US passenger vehicle ownership statistics by household vehicle count
The 2022 NHTS estimated 127.545 million U.S. households. Of these, 10.712 million had no vehicle available, 42.271 million had one, 48.347 million had two, and 26.214 million had three or more. The survey’s average was 1.83 available vehicles per household.
Two-vehicle households formed the largest category, accounting for 37.9% of households. One-vehicle households represented 33.1%, while 20.6% had at least three vehicles. The remaining 8.4% had none. Together, the four rounded shares describe a distribution in which vehicle access was common, but household access varied considerably.
| Vehicles available | Estimated households (thousands) | Share of households |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 10,712 | 8.4% |
| 1 | 42,271 | 33.1% |
| 2 | 48,347 | 37.9% |
| 3 or more | 26,214 | 20.6% |
| All households | 127,545 | 100% |
The “three or more” category is open-ended, so it cannot be used to calculate a precise national vehicle total from these household counts alone. “Available” also describes household access in the survey; it should not be read as a count of vehicles titled to a household member.
Source: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Summary of Travel Trends, Tables 6-1 and 6-2.
Zero-vehicle households by metropolitan area size
The national NHTS estimate for households without a vehicle was 8.4% in 2022. The share varied across the survey’s metropolitan categories. It was 7.2% for households in rural areas outside metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), 7.5% in MSAs with populations from 1 million to under 3 million, and 11.9% in MSAs of 3 million or more.
This pattern shows that zero-vehicle availability was not confined to rural settings: the largest MSA category had a higher reported share than the national figure, while the selected mid-sized MSA and rural categories were lower. These comparisons describe household shares within each NHTS category; they do not give the number of zero-vehicle households in each place. The report’s rural definition is also specific: “Rural, Not in MSA” includes full counties designated rural, while rural areas can also exist within MSA boundaries.
Source: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Summary of Travel Trends, Table 6-3.
Household fleet mix and vehicle age
The NHTS household-based fleet in 2022 was composed of 44.6% autos, 30.2% SUVs, 16.1% pickups, and 4.7% vans. Those categories account for most of the reported mix; the table also includes other trucks, recreational vehicles or motor homes, motorcycles or mopeds, and other vehicles. The figures describe the composition of vehicles represented in the household survey, not the share of new vehicle sales or all registrations nationwide.
Vehicle age differed by type. Household autos averaged 10.67 years, compared with 7.81 years for SUVs and 12.91 years for pickups. Across all household-based vehicles, 44.2% were at least 10 years old, and another 23.1% were between six and nine years old. Thus, a substantial portion of the surveyed household fleet fell into older age bands, while the average varied across vehicle categories.
The profile of newer vehicles was different from the overall fleet mix. Among household-based vehicles that were two years old or newer, SUVs made up 47%, cars 30%, and pickups 14%. This is the composition of the young-vehicle group, not the percentage of each vehicle type that was new. It indicates that SUVs were the largest type within that particular age-defined group.
Sources: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Summary of Travel Trends, Tables 6-4 and 6-5 and Figure 6-3.
Regional averages and state automobile registrations
In 2022, the NHTS national average was 1.83 vehicles per household. The Northeast averaged 1.61, the Midwest 1.96, the South 1.80, and the West 1.91. The Midwest had the highest of these four reported regional averages, while the Northeast had the lowest. These are household survey averages and should not be interpreted as vehicle totals or as state-by-state ownership rates.
A separate Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) table reports registrations, a different measure and population. For 2024, it recorded 97,413,321 total automobile registrations across states and the District of Columbia. California reported 12,979,522 automobiles, Texas 7,281,613, and Florida 7,210,114. These counts include automobile registrations across the table’s private and commercial and publicly owned classifications.
The FHWA table also distinguishes automobiles from all motor vehicles. California recorded 30,940,652 total motor-vehicle registrations in 2024, while Texas recorded 23,606,401. Those broader totals include vehicle classes beyond automobiles, so they should not be substituted for the automobile figures. Registration counts measure vehicles registered in a jurisdiction, not the percentage of households with a vehicle or the number of vehicles available to each household. The FHWA table notes that New York’s 2024 figures are actual state-reported data, following estimated values for 2022 and 2023.
Sources: 2022 National Household Travel Survey, Summary of Travel Trends, Table 2-7; Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table MV-1.