How close most now live to an EV charging station

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The majority of Americans now live within two miles of a public electric vehicle charging station, the Pew Research Center found.

Initiatives like the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure deal, which is funding the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, are working to bring more public EV charging stations to the country. Michigan has received $110 million from the program to expand its EV infrastructure, and the state is currently working to add 41 EV charging stations along state highways.

The number of public EV charging stations has more than doubled in the country since 2020, according to a Pew Research Center study, which uses its own survey and data from the U.S. Department of Energy. There are now more than 61,000 public EV charging stations in the country, compared to around 145,000 gas stations.

Sixty-four percent of Americans live within two miles of a public charger, the study found, and 60% of those in urban areas live less than a mile away from one. More than 95% have at least one charger in their county.

Rural areas have a slightly faster growth rate than urban areas, the study found: 34% compared to 29%.

People who live closer to an electric vehicle public charger are more likely to view EVs in a positive light, the study found.

In Michigan, there are around 1,400 public charging stations that offer a total of around 3,360 charging ports, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Those stations are supporting around 57,400 registered electric vehicles, the Pew Research Center said — though it noted that most EV owners charge their cars at home.

Michigan’s infrastructure is pretty comparable to nearby states. In February of this year, Ohio had 1,555 public EV charging stations; Illinois, 1,248; Pennsylvania, 1,667, the Pew Research Center found. Indiana only had 536, and Wisconsin had 572.

California has the most charging stations in the country. The study says that in February, it had 15,710, almost a quarter of all public charging stations in the country. But it also has 1.2 million registered electric vehicles and ranks No. 49 when it comes to the ratio of public ports to electric vehicles.

Michigan has 41.2 electric vehicles for every public charging station, compared to California’s 80.5 electric vehicles for every public charging station.

A map of public charging stations is available at Michigan.gov. Not surprisingly, it shows several public charging stations in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas. There’s also hundreds on the east side of the state near Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing. Public charging stations get more sparse up north, and there’s only around 35 in the entire Upper Peninsula.

The state offers road trip suggestions for those with electric vehicles, like driving from Holland to Ludington, stopping along the way in Muskegon.