Fact #186: October 15, 2001
Vehicles per Capita Rising Steadily
The number of vehicles per capita in the United States has risen steadily — from 0.28 in 1950 to 0.77 in 1999. In 1985, there was one vehicle for every licensed driver; that number grew to 1.12 in 1999. The number of vehicles per civilian employed person nearly doubled from 1950 to 1975 and has risen slowly since. The number of licensed drivers per household peaked in 1975 and has remained relatively stable since then.
Supporting Information
| Year | Vehicles per Capita |
Licensed Drivers per Household |
Vehicles per Licensed Driver |
Vehicles per Civilian Employed Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.28 | 1.43 | 0.70 | 0.73 |
| 1955 | 0.34 | 1.56 | 0.75 | 0.90 |
| 1960 | 0.37 | 1.65 | 0.76 | 1.01 |
| 1965 | 0.42 | 1.72 | 0.83 | 1.15 |
| 1970 | 0.48 | 1.76 | 0.88 | 1.25 |
| 1975 | 0.56 | 1.82 | 0.92 | 1.40 |
| 1980 | 0.62 | 1.80 | 0.96 | 1.41 |
| 1985 | 0.66 | 1.81 | 1.00 | 1.47 |
| 1990 | 0.72 | 1.79 | 1.07 | 1.51 |
| 1995 | 0.74 | 1.78 | 1.10 | 1.55 |
| 1999 | 0.77 | 1.80 | 1.12 | 1.57 |
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Source: Davis, Stacy C., Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 21, ORNL-6966, Oak Ridge, TN, September 2001. | ||||
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