According to the International Energy Agency, the number of public EV chargers available to drivers in the US is expected to double between 2020 and 2024, reaching nearly 200,000 by the end of last year. Northeastern states currently have the highest density of chargers, with Massachusetts topping the list.
While the pace of growth has slowed significantly compared to other regions that have more actively embraced EVs, the momentum remains robust. Europe and China have adopted EVs much faster than the US, with the number of public chargers increasing roughly fourfold over the same period.
Although an estimated 80% of charging in the US occurs at home, concerns about a lack of public charging infrastructure have plagued EV adoption for years. American drivers consistently cite this issue, or similar concerns, such as concerns that EVs are unsuitable for road trips, as one of the main reasons they are less likely to buy an EV.
This is why widely available public EV charging stations are so crucial to the transition to EVs—a shift the US needs to clean up transportation, its largest source of carbon emissions.
If the number of public chargers continues to grow at the pace of recent years, the industry will have over 500,000 public charging ports by 2030, enough to meet a goal set years ago by the Biden administration.
That might be a big “if” under President Donald Trump.
Since taking office in January, Trump has been trying to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding for public electric vehicle charging projects authorized by the bipartisan 2021 infrastructure bill. Last month, a judge ruled that the government must reopen the grant. The program was already slow to progress, having funded the installation of only a few hundred chargers over the past four years, and Trump’s turmoil has only further stalled it.
Furthermore, after September 30th, when Trump’s massive bill will eliminate federal tax credits for consumers, electric vehicle sales in the United States are likely to slow. Fewer electric vehicles on the road could undermine the economic viability of building new charging stations.
Nevertheless, chargers are becoming increasingly familiar to drivers, especially in the Northeast. Over time, this familiarity should help dispel the perception that electric vehicles are impractical and drive greater acceptance of electric, zero-emission driving.
Post time: Aug-22-2025