The vehicle search engine iSeeCars.com recently published a study about the availability of electric vehicle chargers in U.S. cities and states. Its analysis of data through the end of 2022 looks at publicly available DC (direct current) fast chargers, which can deliver a charge directly to the car’s battery, as well as the Tesla network of chargers.
EV owners often charge at home. But many drivers, including those living in apartments and condominiums, use the roughly 146,000 public electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S., according to iSeeCars.
In the slides that follow, we show the U.S. metro areas with the fewest residents per public charger. Next, you’ll find the metros with the most EV chargers per person. The city that iSeeCars calls the best-equipped for EV drivers is at the end of our list.
5. Cleveland-Akron, Ohio
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 5,217
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 635
ISeeCars says Cleveland is among cities with the “worst electric vehicle charging support for EV owners looking to plug into public chargers” because of its low number of chargers per resident. But in Cleveland’s defense, the survey doesn’t say how many EVs are in the city vying to use those chargers.
Cars are a bread and butter subject in Ohio. At the height of the industry in the state, in 1990, Ohio had 144,000 auto manufacturing jobs, according to Cleveland.com. Ohio’s automotive workforce today — 91,600 workers in assembling and parts manufacturing — remains the second-largest in the U.S.
Now, in a rush to convert factories and compete in the EV world, Ford, GM, Honda and LG Chem are spending billions to reconfigure manufacturing, including at Ohio plants in Avon Lake, Toledo, Lordstown and elsewhere in the state.
4. San Antonio
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 5,386
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 464
CPS Energy, in San Antonio, offers residential customers rebates for agreeing to change their EV charging habits at home. The rebates come as utility bill credits for customers who agree to charge during off-peak hours or to accept slower charging speeds during times of peak demand.
3. Indianapolis
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 5,422
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 491
Just 0.1% of registered vehicles in Indiana are electric, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation’s summer 2022 Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan.
Its data from May 2022 shows 6,990 light duty EVs were registered in the state, including hybrids, battery electric and plug-in vehicles.
2. Birmingham, Alabama
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 5,691
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 296
Alabama, an important auto production hub, could be poised to become a center for EV fabrication, supporters say.
The state has several large automakers making the transition to electric, including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda, according to EV publication Elektrek.
1. St. Louis
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 5,787
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 473
Some Republican leaders in Missouri are pushing to nullify local ordinances that require parking lots to add electric vehicle charging stations when they make certain modifications, such as revamping or expanding a lot. St. Louis city and county governments require the charger additions currently, according to the Missouri Independent.
Opponents contend that building codes shouldn’t be used to push what they see as a political agenda.
The best places for electric vehicles
ISeeCars’ also names the “most EV-friendly metro areas,” ranking cities by the total number of public EV chargers, including chargers in Tesla’s mostly private network.
According to Axios, Tesla has about 17,500 Supercharger plugs nationwide and thousands of other slower chargers. A Tesla pilot program opened the company’s chargers to some non-Tesla drivers but, Axios says, “it turns out that only eight of Tesla’s 1,400 Supercharger stations are open to non-Teslas so far.”
Following are iSeeCars’ five best metros for EVs, beginning with No. 5.
5. Fresno-Visalia, California
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 1,024
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 1,692
Fresno’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project offers a rebate for drivers switching from a gas-fueled car to an electric one.
Rebates are $1,000 to $4,500 for buying or leasing an EV.
EV car shoppers whose income qualifies may be able to get an additional $2,500.
4. Denver
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 992
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 4,128
Denver is behind on meeting its greenhouse gas reduction goals, reports The Denver Gazette.
The city predicts that plug-in EVs could make up 10% of the total of light-duty vehicles by 2030. But that’s just one third of Denver’s original goal of 30%.
3. Los Angeles
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 852
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 18,287
Building a nationwide EV charging network is a complex undertaking. The Los Angeles Times, reporting on a Stanford University study, says that plans for building out the EV charging network in the Western U.S. are adding to demands on the region’s electric grid.
One proposed solution: Encourage more drivers to charge their cars during the daytime.
2. San Diego
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 824
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 3,450
California’s large number of public EV chargers — 44,287 — puts the state near the top of iSeeCars’ chart (Vermont is the No. 1 state).
But California also has a large number of EVs on the road: 425,300, according to a study by Electrek.
And so, you could find yourself waiting to use a charger more often in San Diego than in, say, a city in Alabama, where there are fewer chargers but also fewer EVs competing to use them.
1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California
Number of residents in this metro area per EV charger: 465
Total number of EV chargers in this metro area: 14,083
South San Francisco recently became the site of the first “electrified” Taco Bell franchise, according to the San Francisco Examiner. You can charge your EV there while chowing down on dinner.
This particular Taco Bell is just the first of 298 for which franchise holder Diversified Restaurant Group is planning solar-powered EV charging stations.