Top 10 cities and states with the fastest-growing EV charger infrastructure

(iSeeCars) — Electric vehicles are projected to grow from six percent to 30 percent of new vehicle sales in the next six years. A 500-percent spike in EV sales will require a similar rise in electric vehicle infrastructure if all these new EV owners want access to quick and convenient public charging.

While there are already 150,000 EV charging stations in the U.S., most of them are Level 2 chargers that only add about 10-20 miles an hour to an electric vehicle’s range. Level 3 fast chargers can add 3-20 miles or range a minute, completely replenishing most electric vehicles in 30-60 minutes. However, with only 28,000 Level 3 fast chargers in the public infrastructure, access to fast charging is limited. 

Of those 28,000 fast chargers, over 17,000 are part of the Tesla Supercharger Network, leaving only 11,000 Level 3 chargers available for non-Tesla drivers. You can see which cities are the most and least EV friendly in our recent EV charger study, but suffice it to say the country needs rapid growth in electric vehicle charging support, particularly fast charging options, to keep pace with rising EV sales. 

Which Cities and States Have Grown the Fastest in EV Infrastructure?

EV owners and potential buyers should consider not only which cities and states have the best current EV infrastructure, but which areas are seeing the fastest growth. Many of these cities and states don’t have big EV charger numbers today, but they have worked the hardest in recent years to prepare for the coming wave of electric vehicles.

Listed below are the cities and states with the fastest growth in the number of EV chargers over the past five years. These tables show total EV charger growth as well as the growth of Level 3 chargers.

Tables showing growth for all EV charging networks and growth for Tesla’s Supercharger Network are also included. 

Top Cities and States for Total EV Charger Growth

Much of the recent growth in EV infrastructure has occurred in California, but the fastest growth over the past five years has been in Oklahoma City. At the state level, North Dakota has improved the most over the past five years, with Massachusetts and Oklahoma coming in second and third.

Top Cities and States for Level 3 Fast Charger Growth

While a Level 2 charger is better than nothing for an EV about to run out of energy, effective midday charging requires a Level 3 fast charger. West Palm Beach has grown the fastest in Level 3 charging over the past five years, with San Antonio and Cincinnati also showing substantial improvement. Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and Florida are the leading states for Level 3 improvements in charging support.

Top Cities and States for total EV Charger Growth, Excluding Tesla

Tesla has built an impressive Supercharger Network, but if you don’t own a Tesla you can’t use it, at least not today. Tesla has committed to opening up some of its charging stations by 2024. In the meantime, non-Tesla owners in Austin, San Antonio, and Albuquerque/Santa Fe has benefitted from the most aggressive growth in EV charging support over the past five years. New York, New Mexico, and North Dakota are the states with most non-Tesla EV charging stations since 2017.

Top Cities and States for Level 3 Fast Charger Growth, Excluding Tesla

Only 11,000 Level 3 fast chargers are available outside the Tesla network, but Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, and West Palm Beach added the most number of non-Tesla fast chargers in recent years. With those cities growing so quickly it follows that New Mexico and Oklahoma would be the leading states in non-Tesla Level 3 growth, with Iowa coming in at position three at the state level.

Top Cities and States for Total Tesla Supercharger Network Growth

Tesla continues to grow its Supercharger Network, investing heavily in Greensboro-Winston Salem, Fresno-Visalia, and Indianapolis over the past five years. At the state level Tesla has grown its network the fastest in Alaska, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Top Cities and States for Tesla Level 3 Fast Charger Growth

The Tesla Supercharger Network has over 17,000 Level 3 fast chargers, with recent growth the highest in San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, and Indianapolis. In terms of state growth, Tesla has added the most Level 3 fast chargers in Maryland, Florida, and Massachusetts over the past five years.

More from iSeeCars:

• Electric Cars with the Longest Range
• Are Electric Cars Better for the Environment?
• How to Buy an Electric Car

Methodology

iSeeCars analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Energy through 2022 as of February 8, 2023. The number of Level 2 EVSE and DC Fast EVSE ports was aggregated nationally, by metro area, and by state. The data was also aggregated for chargers from Tesla’s network vs. all other networks. The number of chargers was normalized by population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau and expressed as the number of residents per charger.

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, like the iSeeCars VIN check report and Best Cars rankings. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $372 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.

This article, Top 10 Cities and States with the Fastest-Growing EV Charger Infrastructure, originally appeared on iSeeCars.com.