The worst cities and states to own an EV in 2024

Before you purchase an all-electric vehicle, where you live could impact your decision. A study from iSeeCars.com showed the worst cities and states to own an EV, particularly if you can’t charge at home — these are the areas with the fewest public chargers across the U.S. The absolute fewest were in Louisville, Kentucky. That city only has 412 chargers. Rounding out the worst three are Birmingham, Alabama, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The report also lists the best states for owning an EV.

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10 metro areas with the fewest EV chargers

Louisville, Kentucky
Birmingham, Alabama
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Greensboro – Winston Salem, North Carolina
Norfolk – Portsmouth – Newport News, Virginia
San Antonio, Texas
Harrisburg – Lancaster – York, Pennsylvania
Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo, Michigan
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Albuquerque – Santa Fe, New Mexico

While Midwest and Southeast cities stood out for least EV chargers in terms of raw numbers, they also making the list for least EV-friendly metro areas — a slightly different calculation determined by the ratio of residents to chargers.

10 least EV-friendly metro areas

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Birmingham, Alabama
Cleveland – Akron (Canton), Ohio
Louisville, Kentucky
San Antonio, Texas
St Louis, Missouri
Indianapolis, Indiana
Greensboro – Winston Salem, North Carolina
Chicago
Greenville – Spartanburg, South Carolina

The trend continues as iSeeCars.com ranked overall states as least EV-friendly. Mississippi, Louisiana and Alaska made the top (or the bottom, depending on how you look at it) three for this list.