For the first time, the Census Bureau has asked Americans whether they own or lease an electric vehicle, and the Bay Area came out on top. The 2025 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, released Thursday, Oct. 29, show Santa Clara County leads the nation, with 24.1% of households, or about 163,000, having at least one EV.
The Bay Area’s top five
The top five counties in the country were all in California, the Census Bureau said. KTVU reported they were all in the Bay Area: after Santa Clara came Marin, San Mateo and Alameda, with Contra Costa fifth. Orange County was sixth and Napa County seventh. Among the top 25 counties nationally, all but five were in California, KTVU reported.
Outside California, the highest shares were in Boulder County, Colorado (13.9%), Loudoun County, Virginia (13.9%) and King County, Washington (13.4%), all well below Santa Clara.
California and the U.S.
Statewide, 13.8% of California households had an EV, more than twice the national rate of 5.5%, or about 7.3 million households. In California, 17.7% of homeowner households had one, compared with 8.9% of renter households. The survey counts both all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
“Western states have led the way in switching to electric vehicles,” Census Bureau statistician Tricia Holley said, as quoted by KTVU. Washington (8.9%), Hawaii (8.5%), Nevada (8.2%) and Vermont (7.7%) followed California among states.
KTVU also cited California Energy Commission figures showing Californians bought 86,857 new zero-emission vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, or 19.1% of new car sales.