U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Program

Fact #301: January 5, 2004
Number of Household Vehicles has Grown Significantly

According to the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the number of household vehicles in the United States has nearly tripled (181% increase) from 1969 to 2001. The rate of increase in household vehicles, which includes cars, vans, and SUVs, is 4.5 times the rate of the household population increase.

Graph showing the significant growth in the number of household vehicles from 1969 to 2001.

Supporting Information

Household Vehicles and Population
  Total Household Vehicles Total Household Population
1969 72,500,000 197,213,000
1977 120,098,000 213,141,000
1990 165,221,000 239,416,000
2001 203,872,000 277,208,000
Percent increase from 1969 to 2001 181% 41%

Source: 2001 National Household Travel Survey - Do More Vehicles Make More Miles? (PDF 33 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

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