If you are one of the millions of Americans who commutes to work every day or otherwise relies on a car to get around, you are among the majority. Most Americans have access to at least one vehicle, and in fact, the average American household owns two. Around 8% of Americans don't own any vehicles, while two is most common, and 1 in 5 households owns three or more vehicles, according to Census Bureau data.
Stacker ranked states which had the largest portion of households that own more than the typical two vehicles using Census Bureau data from 2021, the most recent data available.
Whether your household has more than one vehicle depends in part on where you live. For instance, the states where the largest portions of the public own three or more vehicles are what some people call "flyover" states and mountainous regions of the U.S., where other forms of transportation are likely not as easily accessible.
Similarly, rural areas tend to have a higher percentage of these many-vehicle-owning households. For this list, Stacker used Census Bureau data on metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas to determine the percentage of eligible households located in urban and rural areas, respectively. Percentages do not add to 100 because some of the population live in areas defined as mixed metropolitan by the Census Bureau.
Owning a vehicle is not cheap, so it's no surprise that households that own three or more vehicles also tend to boast above-average household incomes.
Among states with the largest concentration of households with many vehicles, so-called "flyover" states top the list. These central states—which have fewer inhabitants than the East and West Coasts—are called "flyovers" due to the high number of cross-country flights that pass over them.
There are likely several factors that led to this, including more limited access to alternative forms of transportation, a larger rural population, and greater average household size.
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 4.04%
- Those households' median income: $210,000
4% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 14.32%
- Those households' median income: $141,800
13% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
18% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 16.71%
- Those households' median income: $109,100
16% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
21% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 17.10%
- Those households' median income: $98,000
16% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
21% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 17.60%
- Those households' median income: $162,000
17% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 18.29%
- Those households' median income: $134,000
18% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 19.93%
- Those households' median income: $160,000
20% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 20.01%
- Those households' median income: $116,000
18% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
25% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 20.07%
- Those households' median income: $115,000
19% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
20% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 20.26%
- Those households' median income: $116,300
20% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 20.75%
- Those households' median income: $105,000
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
21% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 20.86%
- Those households' median income: $96,000
17% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
22% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 21.10%
- Those households' median income: $115,650
20% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 21.25%
- Those households' median income: $108,900
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
22% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 21.30%
- Those households' median income: $153,000
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 21.36%
- Those households' median income: $135,300
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
9% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 22.21%
- Those households' median income: $112,700
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
35% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 22.22%
- Those households' median income: $105,200
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 22.25%
- Those households' median income: $110,500
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 22.99%
- Those households' median income: $152,000
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
Data not available about how many rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 23.10%
- Those households' median income: $107,000
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
23% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 23.92%
- Those households' median income: $137,100
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.06%
- Those households' median income: $87,200
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.07%
- Those households' median income: $95,000
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
24% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.17%
- Those households' median income: $94,300
20% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
25% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.33%
- Those households' median income: $99,000
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.49%
- Those households' median income: $85,000
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
26% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.65%
- Those households' median income: $99,400
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 24.96%
- Those households' median income: $104,700
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
27% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 25.26%
- Those households' median income: $89,000
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 25.37%
- Those households' median income: $110,000
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
35% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 25.53%
- Those households' median income: $157,500
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
27% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 25.83%
- Those households' median income: $91,400
25% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 25.88%
- Those households' median income: $97,000
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
28% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 26.33%
- Those households' median income: $129,000
26% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
29% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 26.62%
- Those households' median income: $97,000
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
30% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 26.80%
- Those households' median income: $125,000
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
31% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 26.88%
- Those households' median income: $105,100
22% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
29% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 26.93%
- Those households' median income: $92,000
26% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
31% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 27.01%
- Those households' median income: $124,700
26% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
33% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 27.98%
- Those households' median income: $124,000
27% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
31% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 28.69%
- Those households' median income: $97,900
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
32% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 28.93%
- Those households' median income: $96,410
24% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
31% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 29.97%
- Those households' median income: $113,000
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
35% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 30.74%
- Those households' median income: $100,000
21% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
38% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 33.56%
- Those households' median income: $95,300
23% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
33% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 33.58%
- Those households' median income: $94,000
Data not available about how many urban households have more than 2 vehicles
35% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 34.47%
- Those households' median income: $93,300
31% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
38% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 34.84%
- Those households' median income: $100,000
27% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
38% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 35.15%
- Those households' median income: $122,100
34% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
37% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
- Share of households that own more than 2 vehicles: 36.45%
- Those households' median income: $92,840
27% urban households have more than 2 vehicles
34% rural households have more than 2 vehicles
Data reporting by Dom DiFurio. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.
