U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Vehicle Technologies Office
Fact #727: May 14, 2012
Nearly Twenty Percent of Households Own Three or More Vehicles
Household vehicle ownership has changed over the last six decades. In 1960, over twenty percent of households did not own a vehicle, but by 2010, that number fell to less than 10%. The number of households with three or more vehicles grew from 2% in 1960 to nearly 20% in 2010. Before 1990, the most common number of vehicles per household was one, but since 1990, the most common number of vehicles is two. Starting in 1980, more than 50% of American households owned two or more vehicles.
Household Vehicle Ownership, 1960-2010
Supporting Information
Household Vehicle Ownership, 1960–2010 (percentage)
| Year |
No
Vehicles |
One
Vehicle |
Two
Vehicles |
Three or
More Vehicles |
| 1960 |
21.5% |
56.9% |
19.0% |
2.5% |
| 1970 |
17.5% |
47.7% |
29.3% |
5.5% |
| 1980 |
12.9% |
35.5% |
34.0% |
17.5% |
| 1990 |
11.5% |
33.7% |
37.4% |
17.3% |
| 2000 |
9.4% |
33.8% |
38.6% |
18.3% |
| 2010 |
9.1% |
33.8% |
37.6% |
19.5% |
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Sources:
1960-1990 - U.S. Department of Transportation, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Journey-to-Work Trends in the United States and its Major Metropolitan Area, 1960–1990, Cambridge, MA, 1994, p. 2-2.
2000 data - U.S. Bureau of the Census, American Fact Finder, factfinder.census.gov, Table QT-04, August 2001.
2010 data - U.S. Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey, 2010 data, Table CP-4.
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