Going Green - 2023's Best Cities to Own an Electric Car

 

Which U.S. cities go the extra mile to support electric vehicle ownership? To mark Zero Emissions Day today and the release of Tesla’s new Cybertruck, Roof Gnome ranked 2023's Best Cities to Own an Electric Car. Why conduct this study? Solar power helps maximize the value of your EV, and Roof Gnome can connect you with the best local solar installation companies (and roofers). To come up with our ranking, we compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on EV incentives, infrastructure, costs, and safety. More specifically, we factored in EV laws, electricity costs, charging station access, and even solar energy potential from viable roofs in each city, among 15 key metrics. See the 10 cities that lead (and the 10 cities that lag) in EV adoption below, followed by key stats from our report.

Best Cities to Own an Electric Car Rank City 1 San Diego, CA 2 Houston, TX 3 Irvine, CA 4 New York, NY 5 Los Angeles, CA 6 Colorado Springs, CO 7 Fort Collins, CO 8 San Antonio, TX 9 San Francisco, CA 10 Chicago, IL Worst Cities to Own an Electric Car Rank City 1 Detroit, MI 2 Newark, NJ 3 Hialeah, FL 4 Paterson, NJ 5 Warren, MI 6 Memphis, TN 7 Macon, GA 8 Shreveport, LA 9 Chattanooga, TN 10 Murfreesboro, TN

Key Insights: Early Adopter: California offers the most EV laws and incentives to drivers, over 200, nearly 2X as many as in Colorado, with 111. In California, 1 in 4 new car sales are zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The state represented about a third of all U.S. plug-in vehicle sales by the end of Q2 2023. Charged Up: Irvine, California (No. 3 overall), boasts the most EV charging stations per 100,000 residents, 212. That’s 61 more than 2nd-placer, Bellevue, Washington (No. 45), and nearly 2X as many as in Atlanta (No. 112), 3rd in this metric. Safety First: Fort Collins, Colorado (No. 7 overall), is the only top-10 ranking city that earned a top-10 Safety score. The city boasts the 7th-lowest accident likelihood (compared with the national average) and fewer motor vehicle thefts (per 10,000 residents) than in 167 cities. Savings Potential: Glendale, California (No. 122 overall), Worcester, Massachusetts (No. 118), and Providence, Rhode Island (No. 169), drivers stand to save the most money by switching to EVs. Each ranked among the 10 cities that spend the most on both gasoline and maintenance and repairs. Max Power: The entire Texas Triangle ranked among the top 15 cities in solar energy potential. Houston (No. 2 overall) leads all 200 cities. Austin (No. 11) finished last in this region at No. 15. Why? The Lone Star State offers the most solar incentives. Limited Range: With the 10th-longest average commute time and the 11th-fewest EV charging stations, EV drivers in Port St. Lucie, Florida (No. 99 overall), will need to charge up more frequently. Gasket Case: Paterson, New Jersey (No. 197 overall), came in last in EV charging station access, lacking any chargepoints, according to Department of Energy data. That’s a baffling outcome, considering the many EV laws and incentives in New Jersey. It also finished 3rd-to-last in solar energy potential — again, despite a number of state solar panel offers.   Helpful Links: See Where Your City Ranks Full Study Article Expert Insights Methodology More from Roof Gnome: Tallest Cities in America Best Cities for Rooftop Drinking Best Cities for Rooftop Dining Best Vacation Spots for Rooftop Swimming How to Know if Your House is a Good Candidate for Solar Panels How Efficient Are Solar Panels? How to Finance Your Solar Panels How to Find the Right Solar Panel Installer How to Read Your Solar Electric Bill