Driving is deeply ingrained in American culture. Most households in the US have access to a car and The majority of adults say they drive at least a few times a month.

Yet 10% of U.S. adults do not drive; that is, they say they rarely or never drive a car or other vehicle. According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. This includes the 6% who say they have never driven.

Where people live plays a role in whether they drive or not. About two tenths adults living in urban areas (18%) say they rarely or never drive. That’s nearly double the proportion of people who say this and those who live in suburbs (7%) or rural areas (8%).

those to live Northeast They are more likely to be non-drivers (17%) than those in the South (10%), West (8%), and Midwest (7%).

Beyond these geographic differences, certain groups of Americans are particularly likely to say they rarely or never drive:

• Adults in low-income households: While 19% of those in low-income households rarely or never drive, this rate is 6% in middle-income households and 3% in upper-income households.
• Black Americans: 21% of black adults do not drive; There are smaller proportions of Asian (13%), Hispanic (12%) and White (7%) adults.
• Young Americans: Adults under age 30 (15%) are more likely to not drive than those ages 30 to 49 (9%), those ages 50 to 64 (7%), and those ages 65 and older (11%).

How do Americans get started?

We were also interested in how the bulk of Americans, namely workers, acted. The U.S. Census Bureau provides a window into this group by asking about the main mode of transportation they typically use to get to work.

Overall, 78% of workers ages 16 and older said they usually drove a car, truck or van to work in the previous week, according to 2023 estimates from the Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS). Looking only at those who commute by car, the vast majority (88%) drive alone rather than carpooling.

Relatively few workers commuted primarily by other means: 4% used public transportation, 2% walked, and less than 1% biked to work. Another 14% worked from home and did not commute last week. Less than 2% used another form of transportation (including taxis and motorcycles, among other methods).

But there are some local differences in how people get started.

In the District of Columbia and New York state, for example, relatively small shares of working residents ages 16 and older went to work (33% and 55%, respectively). These were also the places with the highest percentage of workers using public transportation: 22% of workers live in D.C. and 24% live in New York state. One in ten New Jersey workers used public transportation; this is the third highest share in the country.

In places where a large percentage of workers do their jobs remotely, the share of car commuters increases when remote workers are not taken into account. In D.C., for example, 28% of workers were doing their job from home in the week before respondents took the 2023 survey. while looking commuters only 45% primarily go to work.

The lower driver share in New York was largely due to trends among workers living in New York City, which includes 42% of the state’s working population ages 16 and older. In 2023, only a quarter of New York City workers commuted to work, while 77% of New Yorkers were out of town. City dwellers were much more likely to use public transportation to get to work (48%) than to drive.

This is consistent with previous research finding The majority of people who use public transportation in the USA While living in the country’s largest metropolitan areas, those living in less populated areas often drive to work.

Most homes in the US have a car

Even Americans who don’t commute by car may have one at home. According to ACS’ 2023 projections, the majority of U.S. households (92%) own at least one vehicle for personal use.

8% of households nationwide don’t do that have a vehicle, a third have one car and 36% have two cars. 22% of households have three or more vehicles.

D.C. (36%), New York state (30%), Massachusetts (12%) and New Jersey (11%) are among the places with the highest proportion of households without a vehicle.

In rural, low-density states like Idaho, Utah, New Hampshire and Montana, less than 5% of households live without a car. In three of these places, nearly a third of households have access to at least three vehicles; that’s one of the largest shares of any state.

In every state or jurisdiction except D.C. and New York state, approximately nine out of ten or more households own at least one vehicle.