Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Across America: Mapping
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As the electric vehicle market continues to expand, having enough EV charging stations is essential to allow for longer driving range and lower waiting time at chargers.
Currently, the US has about 140,000 public EV chargers distributed across nearly 53,000 charging stations, which is still far more than the 145,000 gas stations in the country.
This graphic plots EV charging stations across the US using data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The map has interactive features when viewed on desktop computers, displaying pricing structures and connection types when you hover over a charging station, along with filtering options.
Which states are leading the way in EV charging infrastructure?
As shown in the map above, most EV charging stations in the US are located on the west and east coasts of the nation, while the Midwest strip is pretty barren except for the state of Colorado.
California has the largest number of EV charging stations with 15,182, making up an impressive 29% of all charging stations in America. In fact, the Golden State has nearly twice as many Chargers as the next three states, New York (3,085), Florida (2,858) and Texas (2,419) combined.
| Class | condition | Number of charging stations | Share of US charging stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 15.182 | 28.7% |
| 2 | New York | 3,085 | 5.8% |
| 3 | Florida | 2,858 | 5.4% |
| 4 | Texas | 2,419 | 4.6% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 2,328 | 4.4% |
| 6 | Washington | 1,810 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Colorado | 1,718 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Agriculture | 1,596 | 3.0% |
| 9 | Maryland | 1,358 | 2.6% |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 1,260 | 2.4% |
| Total US | 52,889 | 100.0% |
Unsurprisingly, the top four states by GDP have the highest number of EV chargers, and California’s significant lead is unsurprising considering its ambition to completely phase out the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035.
The best states for EV charging speeds and costs
While the distribution of many charging stations in a state is important, two other factors determine the ease of charging: cost and charger level availability.
EV charger pricing structures and charger-level availability across the country are a Wild West with no set rules and few clear expectations.
Find free electric vehicle chargers in all States
Generous EV charging sites will offer unlimited free charging or a time limit of between 30 minutes and 4 hours of free charging before payment is required. Some EV charging stations located in parking structures simply require a parking fee, while others may have a fixed charging fee per session, charge per kWh consumed, or have an hourly charge.
While California leads in terms of the raw amount of free chargers available in the state, it is actually the second worst of the top 10 states in terms of share of chargers, with only 11% of them free for 30 minutes or more.
| Class | State name | Number of free charging stations | Share of free charging stations in the state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 1,717 | 11.3% |
| 2 | Florida | 673 | 23.6% |
| 3 | New York | 662 | 21.5% |
| 4 | Texas | 606 | 25.1% |
| 5 | Maryland | 399 | 29.4% |
| 6 | Agriculture | 360 | 22.6% |
| 7 | Washington | 358 | 19.8% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania | 318 | 25.2% |
| 9 | Colorado | 273 | 15.9% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 150 | 6.4% |
| Total US | 10,295 | 19.5% |
Meanwhile, Maryland leads the way with nearly 30% of chargers in the state offering at least 30 minutes of free charging. On the other hand, Massachusetts is the stingiest state among the top 10, with only 6% of charging stations (150 total) in the state offering free charging for EV drivers.
States with the best DC Fast Charger availability
While free EV chargers are great, access to fast chargers can be just as important, depending on how much you value your time. Most EV drivers in the US will have access to Level 2 chargers, with more than 86% of charging stations in the country having Level 2 chargers.
Although Level 2 charging (4-10 hours from leave to full charge) beats the snail charging rate at Level 1 (40-50 hours from leave to full charge), between busy schedules and many charging stations that are only free for in the first 30 minutes, the availability of a DC fast charger is almost essential.
DC fast chargers can charge an electric vehicle from empty to 80% in 20-60 minutes, but are available at only 12% of America’s EV charging stations today.
| Class | condition | Number of stations with DC charger available | Share of available DC fast charging stations in the state | Share of available free and DC fast charger stations in the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 1,756 | 11.6% | 0.7% |
| 2 | Florida | 360 | 12.6% | 1.1% |
| 3 | Texas | 276 | 11.4% | 1.2% |
| 4 | Colorado | 243 | 14.1% | 1.1% |
| 5 | New York | 234 | 7.6% | 0.8% |
| 6 | Washington | 232 | 12.8% | 1.1% |
| 7 | Agriculture | 228 | 14.3% | 1.4% |
| 8 | Maryland | 223 | 16.4% | 2.7% |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 134 | 10.6% | 1.0% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 134 | 5.8% | 0.2% |
| Total US | 6,540 | 12.4% | 0.9% |
Just like free stations, Maryland leads the top 10 states with the highest share of DC chargers at 16%. While Massachusetts was the worst state for DC charger availability at 6%, New York state was the second worst at 8% despite its large number of chargers overall. All other states in the top 10 have DC chargers available at at least one in 10 charging stations.
As for the holy grail of charging stations, with free charging and DC fast charger availability, almost 1% of the country’s charging stations are located there. So if you’re hoping for free and fast DC charging, the odds in most states are about one in 100.
The future of America’s EV charging infrastructure
As America works toward Biden’s goal of half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 being zero-emission vehicles (battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric or fuel cell electric), charging infrastructure across the country is essential to improve accessibility and convenience for drivers.
The Biden administration has given early approval to 35 states’ electric vehicle infrastructure plans, giving them access to $900 million in funding as part of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula program to be distributed over the next five years.
Along with this program, a $2.5 billion Discretionary Grant Program aims to increase EV charging access in rural, underserved and overburdened communities, along with $3 billion of the Inflation Reduction Act dedicated to supporting access in EV charging for economically disadvantaged communities.
With more than $10 billion invested in EV charging infrastructure over the next five years, and more than half that amount focused on communities with poor current access, the availability of chargers across America is set to continue to improve in the coming years.
