Where Americans Drive the Most and Least

Wyoming is pulling far ahead of the competition when it comes to which U.S. states do the most driving. According to numbers by the Federal Highway Administration analyzed by website Green Car Congress, vehicle miles exceeded 18,000 per Wyoming resident in 2018. The metric refers to total miles travelled by all cars and trucks in a state.

Large and rural states led in the ranking, with one exception: Alaska was part of the states where Americans did the least driving in 2018. Despite being a vast landmass, much of the state could be classified as wilderness rather than being rural, in turn causing most residents only to travel through the parts of the state that are more densely populated, bringing down the length of trips. Harsh weather conditions in the winter also reduce travel or cause residents to switch to other modes of transportation.

Smaller states and those that are more urban for other reasons racked up the least vehicle miles per resident. After Washington D.C., where residents only traveled approximately 5,000 vehicle miles per year, New York state, Rhode Island and Hawaii were the places where people drove the least.