Which states’ residents drive the most per capita?

Canva If a symbol of the American lifestyle exists, it might very well be the car. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, according to the Federal Highway Administration, the average American drives an average of 14,000 miles per year or just under 1,200 miles a month. That’s enough for a round-trip drive from Miami to Seattle twice–with a few hundred miles left over. Another way to measure driving is with vehicle miles traveled per capita, the sum of annual miles traveled by vehicles divided by the state’s total population. Collectively, Americans drive roughly 3.2 trillion miles every year–which measures out to 9,780 miles per capita. But people in different states drive different amounts. Population density and the cost of gas are among the factors influencing driving habits. CheapInsurance.com used data from the Federal Highway Administration and the Census Bureau to find out which state’s residents do the most driving. The data are ranked by the average number of vehicle-miles driven in each state, by capita. Driving data are from September 20211 through August 2023, and population data are from 2022. Southern and Western states lead the rankings of where drivers spend more time behind the wheel. The top five states are more rural and have lower population densities than others, meaning they may have longer distances to travel for work or regular errands. It’s also likely they have less access to public transportation. At the other end of the list, the five states with the lowest miles driven per capita are in the Northeast and along the Pacific coast. Some of them are home to cities with the best public transportation systems in the country. #51. Washington DC Drew Angerer // Getty Images Annual vehicle-miles driven: 3.25 billion —Per capita: 4,843.7 #50. New York Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 112.65 billion —Per capita: 5,724.9 #49. Hawaii Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.48 billion —Per capita: 7,278.2 #48. Rhode Island Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 8.10 billion —Per capita: 7,407.7 #47. Washington Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 59.18 billion —Per capita: 7,600.6 #46. Alaska Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 5.80 billion —Per capita: 7,902.3 #45. Pennsylvania Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 103.89 billion —Per capita: 8,008.7 #44. Illinois Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 101.66 billion —Per capita: 8,079.8 #43. California Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 319.63 billion —Per capita: 8,189.5 #42. Connecticut Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 30.40 billion —Per capita: 8,383.7 #41. New Jersey Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 78.62 billion —Per capita: 8,488.2 #40. Oregon Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 36.49 billion —Per capita: 8,606.8 #39. Nevada Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 27.54 billion —Per capita: 8,666.1 #38. Massachusetts Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 62.12 billion —Per capita: 8,897.6 #37. West Virginia Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 16.35 billion —Per capita: 9,211.6 #36. Maryland Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 57.68 billion —Per capita: 9,355.9 #35. Colorado Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 54.67 billion —Per capita: 9,361.6 #34. Virginia Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 83.20 billion —Per capita: 9,580.9 #33. Ohio Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 113.94 billion —Per capita: 9,692.2 #32. New Hampshire Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 13.61 billion —Per capita: 9,753.9 #31. Delaware Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.02 billion —Per capita: 9,839.0 #30. Michigan Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 99.17 billion —Per capita: 9,883.6 #29. Texas Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 299.85 billion —Per capita: 9,985.0 #28. Idaho Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 19.47 billion —Per capita: 10,043.2 #27. Minnesota Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 57.78 billion —Per capita: 10,106.9 #26. Utah Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 34.35 billion —Per capita: 10,161.5 #25. Iowa Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 33.15 billion —Per capita: 10,356.1 #24. Arizona Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 77.38 billion —Per capita: 10,514.5 #23. Florida Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 234.29 billion —Per capita: 10,532.4 #22. Nebraska Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 20.86 billion —Per capita: 10,598.5 #21. South Dakota Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 9.75 billion —Per capita: 10,718.6 #20. Vermont Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 6.97 billion —Per capita: 10,774.8 #19. Maine Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 14.93 billion —Per capita: 10,780.0 #18. Kansas Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 31.67 billion —Per capita: 10,782.2 #17. Kentucky Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 50.26 billion —Per capita: 11,138.4 #16. North Carolina Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 119.59 billion —Per capita: 11,178.1 #15. Wisconsin Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 65.88 billion —Per capita: 11,179.9 #14. Oklahoma Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 45.20 billion —Per capita: 11,243.3 #13. South Carolina Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 60.26 billion —Per capita: 11,407.8 #12. Georgia Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 125.48 billion —Per capita: 11,498.3 #11. Indiana Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 80.70 billion —Per capita: 11,810.9 #10. North Dakota Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 9.33 billion —Per capita: 11,978.0 #9. Tennessee Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 84.72 billion —Per capita: 12,014.5 #8. Montana Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 13.53 billion —Per capita: 12,045.1 #7. Louisiana Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 55.33 billion —Per capita: 12,054.7 #6. Arkansas Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 38.25 billion —Per capita: 12,560.3 #5. Missouri Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 80.59 billion —Per capita: 13,045.1 #4. New Mexico Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 27.62 billion —Per capita: 13,068.4 #3. Mississippi Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 40.49 billion —Per capita: 13,771.5 #2. Alabama Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 77.64 billion —Per capita: 15,300.3 #1. Wyoming Canva Annual vehicle-miles driven: 10.69 billion —Per capita: 18,378.7 Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Ania Antecka. This story originally appeared on CheapInsurance.com and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.