How Many Cars Are in the US? 297.5 Million Registered (2024 Data)

The United States had 297,525,836 registered motor vehicles in 2024, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Statistics table MV-1, published in January 2026. That is roughly 297.5 million counting every type: about 97.4 million automobiles, 189.8 million trucks, 9.3 million motorcycles and 1.1 million buses. The number you see depends on whether a source counts registrations or vehicles in operation, and on whether it counts passenger cars only or every motor vehicle, so this guide defines each measure before comparing them. For who owns the vehicles, see how many people own cars in the US.

How Many Registered Vehicles Are in the US in 2026?

The latest national count is the 2024 edition of FHWA’s State Motor-Vehicle Registrations table, which the agency published in January 2026 and last modified in February 2026. It adds up the registrations each state reports, so it is a count of registered motor vehicles, not of people who own them. FHWA publishes the series once a year, so any total quoted in 2026 is normally a 2024 registration figure.

Vehicle type (FHWA, 2024)	Registered	Share of total
Automobiles	97,413,321	32.7%
Trucks	189,754,931	63.8%
Motorcycles	9,261,249	3.1%
Buses	1,096,335	0.4%
All motor vehicles	297,525,836	100%

Of the total, 4,740,927 vehicles (1.6%) are publicly owned, such as government fleets; the other 292,784,909 are private and commercial. Shares are calculated from FHWA’s counts.

Registered vehicles, vehicles in operation and light-duty vehicles

Four different numbers circulate under the headline “how many cars are in the US,” and they are not interchangeable. This table lines them up so you can tell which one a source is quoting.

Measure	Latest figure	What it counts
FHWA registered motor vehicles, 2024	297,525,836	Every motor vehicle on a state registration record: autos, trucks, buses, motorcycles, public and private
FHWA light-duty vehicles registered, 2024	271,085,742	Passenger cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs, from FHWA table VM-1 (excludes motorcycles, buses and heavy trucks)
S&P Global Mobility light vehicles in operation, 2025 release	289 million	Light vehicles in operation per the company’s May 2025 analysis
FHWA automobiles only, 2024	97,413,321	The automobile column of MV-1; S&P reports passenger cars in operation below 100 million

The light-duty line is 91.1% of the registered total (calculated from FHWA figures). The FHWA and S&P counts do not match because registration records and fleet-in-operation estimates are built by different methods, so pick one source and compare it only against itself from year to year.

Cars vs Trucks: What the Fleet Is Made Of

The headline total hides a long shift toward trucks. FHWA’s MV-1 tables show automobiles shrinking and trucks growing across the last decade, so the typical registered vehicle is no longer a sedan. The table below compares four editions of the same FHWA table.

Year	Automobiles	Trucks	Truck share	All motor vehicles
2013	113,676,345	132,931,241	52.0%	255,876,822
2022	99,666,377	172,364,078	61.1%	282,174,766
2023	96,901,563	177,228,271	62.3%	284,614,269
2024	97,413,321	189,754,931	63.8%	297,525,836

Between 2013 and 2024, registered automobiles fell by 16.3 million while trucks rose by 56.8 million, and the truck share of the total went from 52.0% to 63.8% (calculated from the table above). S&P Global Mobility describes the same direction: its May 2025 release says passenger cars keep declining as consumer preference shifts to light trucks.

One caution on the split: the MV-1 page does not say how each state classes SUVs, vans and crossovers, so read autos versus trucks as the states’ own classification, not a model-by-model count. FHWA’s VM-1 table gives a cleaner picture of the passenger fleet: 205,550,881 light-duty vehicles on a short wheelbase (121 inches or less) and 65,534,861 on a long wheelbase, plus 12,599,614 single-unit trucks and 3,482,896 combination trucks.

Did the US Really Add 12.9 Million Vehicles in One Year?

FHWA’s total rose from 284,614,269 in 2023 to 297,525,836 in 2024, a gain of 12,911,567 (12.9 million). Most of that gain sits on one line. In the 2023 table, New York shows 9,361,933 vehicles and carries a note that FHWA estimated the data because of data quality concerns. In the 2024 table, New York shows 20,991,098, and FHWA’s note says it moved from estimates for 2022 and 2023 to actual state-reported registrations for 2024.

Step (calculated from FHWA figures)	Vehicles
US total change, 2023 to 2024	+12,911,567
New York line change, 2023 to 2024	+11,629,165
Change in all other states combined	+1,282,402 (+0.5%)

So the change from the New York data alone is about 11.6 million of the 12.9 million increase, while the other 50 jurisdictions together grew by roughly 0.5%. That is the number to use if you want a feel for real fleet growth: it is far closer to S&P Global Mobility’s 3 million increase in vehicles in operation than to a 12.9 million jump. Anyone comparing FHWA’s 2024 total with earlier years should keep that footnote in mind.

Which US States Have the Most Registered Vehicles?

Vehicle totals follow population, so the biggest states lead. The table lists the ten largest 2024 totals from FHWA’s table MV-1, counting all motor vehicle types.

Rank	State	Registered motor vehicles, 2024	Share of US total
1	California	30,940,652	10.4%
2	Texas	23,606,401	7.9%
3	New York	20,991,098	7.1%
4	Florida	19,696,080	6.6%
5	Ohio	11,366,695	3.8%
6	Pennsylvania	10,612,158	3.6%
7	Illinois	10,546,027	3.5%
8	Michigan	9,606,801	3.2%
9	Georgia	9,309,408	3.1%
10	North Carolina	8,862,420	3.0%

California, Texas, New York and Florida together hold 95,234,231 vehicles, or 32.0% of the national count, and the top ten states hold 52.3% (calculated from FHWA figures). New York’s rank reflects the actual-data switch described above; in the 2023 table its estimated line sat well below Florida’s.

Vehicles per Person and Miles per Vehicle

The Census Bureau’s January 2026 release put the US population at 341.8 million on July 1, 2025. Dividing FHWA’s 2024 registered total by that figure gives about 0.87 registered vehicles per resident, or roughly nine vehicles for every ten people. The registration year and population date differ, so use it as an approximation. Our ownership guide covers households with and without a vehicle.

FHWA’s VM-1 table adds how much those vehicles are driven: light-duty vehicles averaged 10,787 miles in 2024, down from 11,026 in 2023, within total travel of 3,294,031 million vehicle-miles. Population and mileage sources: Census Bureau press release and FHWA table MV-1.

How Old Is the US Fleet?

S&P Global Mobility’s May 21, 2025 release reports that the average age of US light vehicles rose to 12.8 years, up two months for the second year in a row. Passenger cars average 14.5 years and light trucks 11.9 years. Battery electric vehicles average 3.7 years, plug-in hybrids 4.9 and conventional hybrids 6.4.

The same release says vehicle registrations passed 16 million in 2024 for the first time since 2019, that vehicles in operation grew to 289 million, and that the scrappage rate held at 4.5%. If that rate applied to the whole 289 million fleet, roughly 13 million vehicles would leave the road in a year, which fits a fleet growing by only about 3 million even with 16 million registrations (a rough calculation). New cars are mostly replacing old ones, which is why the fleet grows slowly while it ages.

How Has the Number of Cars in the US Changed Over Time?

On FHWA’s own tables, registered motor vehicles went from 255,876,822 in 2013 to 297,525,836 in 2024, an increase of 41,649,014 (16.3%), though part of that comes from the New York data change above. For the long view back to 1900, read our US vehicle timeline from 1900 to 2023 and when cars became common, and for the global picture see how many cars are in the world.

Keep reading

• How Many People Drive Cars? 239.8M US Licensed Drivers (2024)
• How Many Cars Exist in the World Today? Country Counts (WHO, 2021)
• How Many Cars Are Made Each Year? 92.5M in 2024 (OICA Data)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cars are registered in the United States?

The Federal Highway Administration counted 297,525,836 registered motor vehicles in its Highway Statistics 2024 table MV-1, published in January 2026. Of those, 97,413,321 were classed as automobiles, 189,754,931 as trucks, 9,261,249 as motorcycles and 1,096,335 as buses.

How many passenger cars are there in the US?

FHWA’s 2024 registration table lists 97,413,321 automobiles, about 32.7% of all registered vehicles. S&P Global Mobility’s May 2025 release says passenger cars in operation dropped below 100 million for the first time since the 1970s.

Which state has the most registered vehicles?

California, with 30,940,652 registered vehicles in FHWA’s 2024 table. Texas follows with 23,606,401, then New York with 20,991,098 and Florida with 19,696,080.

Is the number of vehicles in the US still growing?

FHWA’s registered total rose from 282,174,766 in 2022 to 297,525,836 in 2024, but part of the 2024 jump comes from New York’s line switching from an FHWA estimate to state-reported data. S&P Global Mobility put vehicles in operation at 289 million in 2025, up 3 million from a year earlier.

How many vehicles are there per person in the US?

Dividing FHWA’s 2024 registered total by the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 population estimate of 341.8 million gives about 0.87 registered vehicles per resident. The two figures come from different dates, so treat the ratio as approximate.

Why do sources give different totals for US vehicles?

They count different things. FHWA counts every motor vehicle registered with the states, including trucks, buses, motorcycles and publicly owned vehicles. S&P Global Mobility reports light vehicles in operation. Passenger cars alone are a much smaller number than either total.

Conclusion

The most defensible answer is 297,525,836 registered motor vehicles in 2024 per FHWA, with about 97.4 million of them automobiles and 189.8 million trucks. Use roughly 289 million if you want S&P Global Mobility’s light vehicles in operation, and remember that passenger cars alone are under 100 million by both sources. The fleet is growing slowly, tilting toward trucks and getting older.

This guide does not cover vehicle ownership by household, new-car sales by brand or electric vehicle counts; see our linked guides for those. Statistics change each year, so check the cited sources for newer editions.