Electric vehicles are the future of transportation. States like California and Massachusetts have announced that all new vehicles sold in both states will be electric by 2035. Automakers have also announced aggressive EV mandates, including Volkswagen and General Motors, which will stop selling internal-combustion-engined vehicles by 2035. 

According to Experian, electric vehicles accounted for 5.8 percent of all new car registrations in 2022, up from 3.1 percent in 2021. While that number is expected to increase in 2023 due to high gas prices, the emergence of many new electric vehicle models that entered the market, and increased inventory.

So which states are ahead of the curve when it comes to electric vehicle adoption? Here is a ranking of states by their share of electric cars:

Ranking of States by EV Share - iSeeCars
Rank State EV Share
1 California 4.9%
2 Colorado 3.4%
3 Washington 3.2%
4 Oregon 2.5%
5 Hawaii 2.3%
6 Utah 2.3%
7 Arizona 2.3%
8 Virginia 2.1%
9 Nevada 2.1%
10 Florida 1.8%
11 Maryland 1.7%
12 New Jersey 1.6%
13 Illinois 1.6%
National Average 1.6%
14 Massachusetts 1.4%
15 Georgia 1.4%
16 Texas 1.4%
17 North Carolina 1.2%
18 Minnesota 1.2%
19 Delaware 1.1%
20 Connecticut 1.0%
21 Tennessee 0.9%
22 Pennsylvania 0.9%
23 Vermont 0.9%
24 Indiana 0.9%
25 New Mexico 0.8%
26 Missouri 0.8%
27 Nebraska 0.8%
28 New York 0.8%
29 Kansas 0.8%
30 Ohio 0.8%
31 New Hampshire 0.8%
32 Idaho 0.7%
33 Oklahoma 0.7%
34 Rhode Island 0.7%
35 Alabama 0.6%
36 Maine 0.6%
37 South Carolina 0.6%
38 Alaska 0.6%
39 Kentucky 0.6%
40 Arkansas 0.6%
41 Wisconsin 0.5%
42 Michigan 0.5%
43 Montana 0.5%
44 Iowa 0.4%
45 Louisiana 0.4%
46 South Dakota 0.3%
47 North Dakota 0.3%
48 Wyoming 0.3%
49 Mississippi 0.3%
50 West Virginia 0.2%
  • California, which is a leader in the EV movement as the first state to announce a zero- emission vehicle mandate, has the highest share of EVs with EVs accounting for 4.9 of the state’s total vehicle share
  • The top five states for EV adoption are California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii.
  • North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, and West Virginia, which are all mountainous states, have the lowest share of EVs.
There are currently 16 states that have followed California’s lead as a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) state. ZEV states have regulations in place to achieve long-term emission reduction goals by requiring manufacturers to supply the cleanest cars possible. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. ZEV states generally have more EVs than non-ZEV states since more EVs are generally available to consumers in ZEV states. However, more states are expected to adopt California’s emission standards to become ZEV states, which will likely spur EV adoption even further.  

More from iSeeCars.com:

Methodology:

iSeeCars.com analyzed over 10.2 million 1-5 year old used car sales sold in June 2022 – May 2023. The percentage share of EV sales within each state was calculated and used to rank all US states. 

About iSeeCars:

iSeeCars.com is a data-driven car search and research company that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, including the iSeeCars VIN Check report and Best Cars Rankings. iSeeCars has saved users over $424 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.