Chart: Public EV chargers are growing steadily in the US

It’s getting easier and easier to find a public EV charger in the U.S.

Between 2020 and 2024, the number of public EV charging ports available to U.S. drivers doubled, reaching nearly 200,000 by the end of last year, according to International Energy Agency data. Northeast states have the highest charger density by far, with Massachusetts at the top of the list.

It’s solid growth, though significantly slower than other regions that have embraced EVs more wholeheartedly. In Europe and China, both of which are adopting EVs much faster than the U.S., public chargers roughly quadrupled over the same period.

Even though an estimated 80% of charging happens at home in the U.S., concerns about a lack of public charging infrastructure have dogged EV adoption for years. American drivers consistently cite the issue, or its close cousins, like a fear that EVs are no good for road trips, as among the top reasons they are unlikely to get an electric car.

That’s why widely available public EV charging ports are so important to the transition to electric vehicles — a shift that needs to happen for the U.S. to clean up transportation, its biggest source of carbon emissions.

If the number of public plugs continues to grow at the rate observed in recent years, the industry would have over half a million public charging ports available by 2030, enough to meet a goal set by the Biden administration years ago.

That might be a big ​“if” under President Donald Trump.

Since taking office in January, Trump has tried to freeze billions of dollars’ worth of federal funding for public EV charging authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. A judge ruled last month that the administration must turn the spigot back on. The program was already sluggish to begin with, having funded the installation of just a couple hundred charging ports over the last four years, and the Trump turmoil has only thrown more sand in its gears.

Then there’s the possibility that EV sales slow down in the U.S. after Sept. 30, when Trump’s megabill eliminates federal tax credits for consumers. Fewer EVs hitting the road could undermine the economic case for companies to build new charging stations.

Still, it’s true that chargers are becoming a more familiar sight for drivers — especially those in the Northeast. As time goes on, that familiarity should help erode the stubborn perception that EVs are unworkable, and help push more and more people to embrace electric, emissions-free driving.

‍