Graph and download economic data for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) from Jan 2000 to Mar 2025 about miles, travel, vehicles, and USA.

The number of vehicle-miles traveled on all roads in the United States decreased by some 1.55 percent to approximately 3.17 trillion in 2022. Records for 2019 reported the highest annual level on record, at just under 3.3 trillion vehicle-miles traveled.

Annual Public Road Mileage and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) from 1900 through 2023 and Lanes Miles from 1980 through 2023 from Highway Statistics Tables VMT-421C and VMT-422C.

The data is based upon traffic volume trends data collected by the United States Department of Transportation data from January 1971 to February 2013.Since June 2005, vehicle miles driven have fallen 8.75 percent. This decline has remained steady for the past 92 months. There are several reasons that may be causing this steady downward trend. It has been suggested that due to rising gas prices, the Great Recession, an aging population led by the Baby Boom generation which is comprised of Americans over the age of 55 who tend to drive less, and quite possibly younger Americans choosing to drive less. Between 2001 and 2009, the average yearly number of miles driven by 16- to 34-year-olds has dropped 23 percent.Researchers indicate that this trend may be linked to five principal factors:The cost of Driving has increasedThe recent recessionIt is harder to get a license in many statesMore younger people are choosing to live in transit-oriented areas andTechnology is making it easier to go car-freeData Source Information: Traffic Volume Trends is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data reported by the States. These data are collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide and are used to estimate the percent change in traffic for the current month compared with the same month in the previous year. Estimates are re-adjusted annually to match the vehicle miles of travel from the Highway Performance Monitoring System and are continually updated with additional data.

This table contains data on the annual miles traveled by place of occurrence and by mode of transportation (vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle), for California, its regions, counties, and cities/towns. The ratio uses data from the California Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. Miles traveled by individuals and their choice of mode – car, truck, public transit, walking or bicycling – have a major impact on mobility and population health. Miles traveled by automobile offers extraordinary personal mobility and independence, but it is also associated with air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, road traffic injuries, and sedentary lifestyles. Active modes of transport – bicycling and walking alone and in combination with public transit – offer opportunities for physical activity, which has many documented health benefits. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

Graph and download economic data for Moving 12-Month Total Vehicle Miles Traveled (M12MTVUSM227NFWA) from Dec 1970 to Apr 2025 about miles, travel, vehicles, and USA.

United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 3 Persons data was reported at 27,900.000 Mile in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 28,400.000 Mile for 2001. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 3 Persons data is updated yearly, averaging 27,900.000 Mile from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2009, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28,400.000 Mile in 2001 and a record low of 23,700.000 Mile in 1991. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 3 Persons data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Center for Transportation Analysis. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.TA005: Vehicles Miles Traveled per Household.

Daily Miles Traveled (T14)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Total vehicle miles traveled

LAST UPDATED
August 2022

DESCRIPTION
Daily miles traveled, commonly referred to as vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reflects the total and per-person number of miles traveled in personal vehicles on a typical weekday. The dataset includes metropolitan area, regional and county tables for total vehicle miles traveled.

DATA SOURCE
California Department of Transportation: California Public Road Data/Highway Performance Monitoring System - http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hpms/datalibrary.php
2001-2020

Federal Highway Administration: Highway Statistics - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2020/hm71.cfm
2020

California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/
2001-2020

US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
2020

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reflects the mileage accrued within the county and not necessarily the residents of that county; even though most trips are due to local residents, additional VMT can be accrued by through-trips. City data was thus discarded due to this limitation and the analysis only examines county and regional data, where through-trips are generally less common.

The metropolitan area comparison was performed by summing all of the urbanized areas for which the majority of its population falls within a given metropolitan area (9-county region for the San Francisco Bay Area and the primary metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for all others). For the metro analysis, no VMT data is available in rural areas; it is only available for intraregional analysis purposes. VMT per capita is calculated by dividing VMT by an estimate of the traveling population.

Annual Vehicle Miles of Travel (AVMT) represents the estimated number of miles driven on Maryland's public highways for a given year. There are two components used to estimate AVMT - traffic count data and highway mileage. Traffic count data is summarized and reported as Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT). AADTs are calculated from short-term (48-hour) traffic counts performed on all publicly maintained roads in Maryland (including county and municipal). These counts are factored to account for seasonal variation in traffic patterns and represent an “Average Day”. For planning purposes, AADT's are assigned to highway segments in order to provide a picture of traffic patterns is on the highway system on an average day. Highway mileage statistics are complied annually based on mileage reports from the local jurisdictions and SHA and MDTA offices. Any mileage changes are field verified by SHA's data collections crews. AVMT is calculated by multiplying the AADT on a road segment by the segment length. Because AADT represents Daily traffic, the result is multiplied by 365 to represent Annual Vehicle Miles of Travel. (AVMT = AADT X SECTION LENGTH X365)

United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 2 Persons data was reported at 17,500.000 Mile in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 21,200.000 Mile for 2001. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 2 Persons data is updated yearly, averaging 19,300.000 Mile from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2009, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21,200.000 Mile in 2001 and a record low of 17,500.000 Mile in 2009. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 2 Persons data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Center for Transportation Analysis. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.TA005: Vehicles Miles Traveled per Household.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Daily Miles Traveled (T14)

FULL MEASURE NAME Total vehicle miles traveled

LAST UPDATED July 2017

DESCRIPTION Daily miles traveled, commonly referred to as vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reflects the total and per-person number of miles traveled in personal vehicles on a typical weekday. The dataset includes metropolitan area, regional and county tables for total vehicle miles traveled.

DATA SOURCE California Department of Transportation: California Public Road Data/Highway Performance Monitoring System 2001-2015 http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hpms/datalibrary.php

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Vehicle miles traveled reflects the mileage accrued within the county and not necessarily the residents of that county; even though most trips are due to local residents, additional VMT can be accrued by through-trips. City data was thus discarded due to this limitation and the analysis only examine county and regional data, where through-trips are generally less common.

The metropolitan area comparison was performed by summing all of the urbanized areas for which the majority of its population falls within a given metropolitan area (9-nine region for the San Francisco Bay Area and the primary MSA for all others). For the metro analysis, no VMT data is available in rural areas; it is only available for intraregional analysis purposes.

Graph and download economic data for Vehicle Miles Traveled (TRFVOLUSM227NFWA) from Jan 1970 to Apr 2025 about miles, travel, vehicles, and USA.

Daily Miles Traveled (T14)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Total vehicle miles traveled

LAST UPDATED
August 2022

DESCRIPTION
Daily miles traveled, commonly referred to as vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reflects the total and per-person number of miles traveled in personal vehicles on a typical weekday. The dataset includes metropolitan area, regional and county tables for total vehicle miles traveled.

DATA SOURCE
California Department of Transportation: California Public Road Data/Highway Performance Monitoring System - http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hpms/datalibrary.php
2001-2020

Federal Highway Administration: Highway Statistics - https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2020/hm71.cfm
2020

California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/
2001-2020

US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
2020

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reflects the mileage accrued within the county and not necessarily the residents of that county; even though most trips are due to local residents, additional VMT can be accrued by through-trips. City data was thus discarded due to this limitation and the analysis only examines county and regional data, where through-trips are generally less common.

The metropolitan area comparison was performed by summing all of the urbanized areas for which the majority of its population falls within a given metropolitan area (9-county region for the San Francisco Bay Area and the primary metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for all others). For the metro analysis, no VMT data is available in rural areas; it is only available for intraregional analysis purposes. VMT per capita is calculated by dividing VMT by an estimate of the traveling population.

United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 1 Person data was reported at 7,100.000 Mile in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7,500.000 Mile for 2001. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 1 Person data is updated yearly, averaging 7,500.000 Mile from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2009, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,400.000 Mile in 1991 and a record low of 7,100.000 Mile in 2009. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: 1 Person data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Center for Transportation Analysis. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.TA005: Vehicles Miles Traveled per Household.

United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: w/o Children data was reported at 14,400.000 Mile in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16,700.000 Mile for 2001. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: w/o Children data is updated yearly, averaging 16,700.000 Mile from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2009, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17,600.000 Mile in 1991 and a record low of 14,400.000 Mile in 2009. United States Ave Vehicle Miles Traveled per Household: w/o Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Center for Transportation Analysis. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.TA005: Vehicles Miles Traveled per Household.

The Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey serves as the nation's inventory of daily personal travel. It collects data on daily trips including purpose of the trip, means of transportation used, travel time, vehicle occupancy, driver characteristics, and vehicle attributes. These data are collected for all personal trips, all modes and purposes, all trip lengths, all areas of the country, all days of the week, and all months of the year. Part 1, the Household File, contains data on the relationship between household members and demographic information for household members. The file also contains information on housing characteristics, as well as characteristics of the block group and census tract. Availability and distance to public transportation are also included. Part 2, the Person File, contains information on seat belt use, modes of transportation used for travel to work, and costs for parking. Part 3, the Vehicle File, contains data relating to each of the household's vehicles, including whether a particular household member usually drives the vehicle, when it was purchased, the vehicle type, and model year. Part 4, the Travel Day Trip File, contains data about each trip the person made on the household's randomly assigned travel day. Information was collected on the purpose of the trip, the number of trips within the trip chain, where the trip chain started, and the amount of time spent at each destination. Part 5, the Segmented Travel Day Trip File, contains data for up to four segments of each segmented travel day trip the person made on the travel day. The file contains information on the start time, mode of transportation used, purpose, and duration of each travel segment. Part 6, the Travel Period File, contains data for every trip of at least 75 miles one way that the person took during a 14-day period ending on the travel day. The file contains information on the start date, purpose, and transportation mode used for trip. New for the 1995 survey was a written diary, used to help respondents to better remember their travel on their designated travel day, and a household roster of trips, which was used to assist respondents in recalling trips made with other household members. New questions included satisfaction with the nation's transportation system, reactions to mobility and congestion, perceived difficulties in travel, and use of seat belts.

The purpose of the project was to develop estimates of average weekday household person trips, vehicle trips, person miles traveled, and vehicle miles traveled (per day), for all Census tracts in the United States. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) developed a model that allows for Census tract estimation using the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data along with American Community Survey (ACS) data from the Census Bureau. The model divides the NHTS data into six geographic areas, classifies these areas as urban/suburban/rural, and then estimates average weekday household: person miles traveled, person trips, vehicle miles traveled, and vehicle trips for each geographic area. The BTS model then transfers the estimates to individual Census tracts using the household and demographic data from the ACS for each Census tract.The resulting Census tract estimates provide beneficial indicators to local governments and other customers who may not have the budget and/or time for conducting their own local survey. Additionally, the use of a standard set of questions across all geographies in the NHTS enables comparison across geographies that otherwise would be captured in separate local surveys with potentially different methodologies.A small number of census tracts do not contain estimates for a variety of reasons, such as census tracts with zero population, or census tracts with very unusual demographic or travel characteristics.

This table contains data on the percent of residents aged 16 years and older mode of transportation to work for California, its regions, counties, cities/towns, and census tracts. Data is from the U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census and American Community Survey. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. Commute trips to work represent 19% of travel miles in the United States. The predominant mode – the automobile - offers extraordinary personal mobility and independence, but it is also associated with health hazards, such as air pollution, motor vehicle crashes, pedestrian injuries and fatalities, and sedentary lifestyles. Automobile commuting has been linked to stress-related health problems. Active modes of transport – bicycling and walking alone and in combination with public transit – offer opportunities for physical activity, which is associated with lowering rates of heart disease and stroke, diabetes, colon and breast cancer, dementia and depression. Risk of injury and death in collisions are higher in urban areas with more concentrated vehicle and pedestrian activity. Bus and rail passengers have a lower risk of injury in collisions than motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Minority communities bear a disproportionate share of pedestrian-car fatalities; Native American male pedestrians experience four times the death rate Whites or Asian pedestrians, and African-Americans and Latinos experience twice the rate as Whites or Asians. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

The VMTRoadInventory 2022 Is a version of the Road Inventory 2022 that contains Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for the Road Inventory, in Massachusetts for the year 2022. The Road Inventory is a GIS-based asset management system for the state's highway transportation system. As such, its strengths are in describing the configuration and condition of public roads and rights-of-way. It is not designed to support route-finding (e.g., shortest path applications), nor is it designed to support geocoding (although in theory intersection-based geocoding could be set up on it). It is part of the official documentation of the state road system and is used to prepare the yearly Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) report to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). It is a record of centerline and lane miles, which are the basis of state reimbursements to localities for road maintenance expenses (Chapter 90 funds).