Maps and Data

This chart shows the trend of U.S. public and private alternative fueling stations by fuel type from 1992 to 2021. Propane stations were the most numerous until 2011 when they were surpassed by electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The growth in EV chargers accelerated starting in 2011 following the 2010 increase of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) offered by major automakers. In 2016, the number of EV chargers experienced the largest growth to support the growing PEV population followed closely by 2015. The number of EV chargers is expected to increase as the population of PEVs continues to grow. The number of E85 stations has been increasing steadily since 2004 as the number of flex fuel vehicles available from major manufacturers has increased. The number of compressed natural gas (CNG) stations decreased between 1996 and 2006 (despite the increase in CNG sales during this time) largely because the average station size was increasing. CNG station counts also decreased between 2017 and 2020 due to station closures because of high repair and operating costs, and because of fleets transitioning away from CNG. The number of propane stations has steadily decreased since 2016, which can be attributed to stations beginning to offer only bottle fueling and discontinuing vehicle fueling.

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