It may be no surprise to you that California has the largest percentage of electric car ownership in the United States. But the Census Bureau recently added the question “Do you own or lease an electric vehicle?” So, we actually have some in-depth data. 

The top three EV states. 

Not surprisingly, (to me at least), is that Washington state comes in at #2. 

California’s EV share is at 13.8%. Considering the price of gasoline in California that’s not surprising, but Washington state comes in at #2. With 8.9%. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘The survey counts both all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids. It asked households that keep at least one vehicle at home whether any were electric. Nationally, about 7.3 million of the country’s 134 million households had one.’ 

The big surprise for me was that Hawaii came in at #3 with 8.5%. 

Let’s break it out by county. 

It turns out that in the state of Washington, the highest amount of EV adoption is in King County at 13.4%. I guess that makes sense to me since there’s so many high-income tech bro types living and working in King County. But the next two counties on that list for #2 and #3 surprised me just a little bit. 

The number 2 county in Washington for EV adoption turns out to be Snohomish County at 10.1%. The number 3 county in Washington for EV adoption is Skagit County at 9.5%. 

Keep in mind that these numbers come from the census survey of 2025. 

I would have thought that Chelan or Douglas counties would Certainly be in the top five, if not in the top three. It just makes sense to me that if it’s cheaper to operate the vehicle In Chelan or Douglas counties, then adoption would be higher. 

Chelan and Douglas counties don’t even get near the top 10. Maybe it’s just because I’m so hypersensitive to the issue. It seems like I see EVs constantly. Tesla’s, Rivian’s, Kia’s, Chevys, VW’s and Fords. The other day I actually saw a Fisker which kind of blew my mind because that company filed for bankruptcy in 2024. 

Why do I drive electric? 

I don’t drive an electric car because I’m a “tree hugger” or because I want to save the planet. I drive an EV because it’s fun to drive and cheaper to drive. I really do hate buying gasoline, especially at these prices.  

For those of you that say I’m avoiding paying the gasoline tax. Well, yes, that is true. But I am paying for our road maintenance every time I renew the tabs on my car. The state gets $300.00 of my money every year to maintain the roads, and I’m fine with that.