EV Use Surging in “Four Corners” of U.S.

The Pacific Northwest has one of the country’s highest concentrations of electric vehicle (EV) use, according to a report from Axios. Their data from mobility analytics shows EV use is concentrated in the “four corners” of the U.S., with California, the Northeast and Southeast joining the PNW.

Axios compared county-by-county electric vehicle miles traveled per 1,000 residents on a typical weekday during the second quarter of 2023.

Marin County, California had the highest rate among counties with more than 100,000 people, notching 1,942 EV miles traveled per capita. Two other counties in California, Santa Clara and San Mateo, followed Marin County.

A comparison of selected counties in Western Washington showed Jefferson County leading King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

Wahkiakum County, located on the Columbia River and the state’s third smallest with a population of 4,382, claimed the most electric miles traveled per 1,000 residents with 668 on a typical weekday.

Statewide, an estimated 18% of new car sales during the first half of 2023 were fully electric cars or plug-in hybrids, according to a Seattle Times report. Nationwide, the figure was 9%.

Recurrent, which works to accelerate EV adoption and tracks trends in used electric car pricing and inventories, reported there are 104,050 all-electric vehicles registered in Washington state as of July 2023. That puts the state fourth among EV registrations in the U.S., surpassed only by California, Florida, and Texas. Across Washington there are 1,820 charging stations with 4,658 charging ports.

Many counties in the Great Plains and Midwest had little to no EV miles traveled. Garfield County, Washington’s least densely populated county (population of 2,274) registered last among the state’s counties with zero EV miles per 1,000 people.

Estimates of the number of EV miles traveled were based in part on anonymized mobile device information, roadside sensors, and transit agencies.