Density, weather, and access to public transportation systems play a key role in how many miles are driven in the country’s 50 largest metro areas.
A recent analysis from Replica looked at 2023 data from the 50 largest metro areas in the United States and ranked them by 3 key metrics, including vehicle miles traveled per capita, walking mode share, and daily travel minutes for capita.
The highest levels of daily driving — which also correspond with some of the lowest numbers of trips taken via walking, according to the same analysis — occurred in Southern cities with lower density that lack robust public transportation systems and where summer weather is often too hot and humid for comfortable outdoor travel. The study also found that metro areas with greater population density largely had lower daily travel times compared to lower-density metro areas.
10 Metro Areas with Highest VMT Per Capita
- Raleigh, NC: 38.1 miles per weekday
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL: 36.1 miles per weekday
- Jacksonville, FL: 36 miles per weekday
- Nashville, TN: 35.5 miles per weekday
- Charlotte, NC: 35.5 miles per weekday
- Richmond, VA: 35.5 miles per weekday
- Memphis, TN: 35.2 miles per weekday
- Atlanta, GA: 33.6 miles per weekday
- St. Louis, MO: 32.7 miles per weekday
- Oklahoma City, OK: 32.5 miles per weekday
10 Metro Areas with Lowest VMT Per Capita
- New York City, NY-NJ-PA: 14.4 miles per weekday
- Philadelphia, PA: 21.1 miles per weekday
- San Francisco-Oakland, CA: 21.7 miles per weekday
- Chicago, IL: 21.8 miles per weekday
- Boston, MA: 22.8 miles per weekday
- Seattle, WA: 22.9 miles per weekday
- Portland, OR: 23.3 miles per weekday
- Las Vegas, NV: 23.6 miles per weekday
- Miami, FL: 23.7 miles per weekday
- Los Angeles, CA: 24.2 miles per weekday
FULL STORY: 2023 MSA Rankings
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