There was a wide range in per capita transportation energy use across the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2020.
September 19, 2022There was a wide range in per capita transportation energy use across the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2020. DC had the lowest transportation energy use per capita at 25 million Btu. New York had the lowest use of any state—just under 46 million Btu per capita—while Alaska’s per capita use was nearly five times higher at 225 million Btu. Thirty-nine states had transportation energy use per capita of between 50 and 100 million Btu. The states with the lowest transportation energy use per capita tended to be in the more urbanized Northeast where population densities are higher, while larger, less populated states like Alaska, Wyoming, and North Dakota had the highest per capita transportation energy use.
![Transportation Energy Use per Capita, 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/full_article_width/public/2022-09/FOTW_1256.png?itok=5OdvbKuL)
Sources:
Energy use – U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data System, Table C8. Transportation Sector Energy Consumption Estimates, 2020, released June 24, 2022.
Population – U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Population Estimates for the United States: April 1, 2020 to December 1, 2022 (NA-EST2021-POP), accessed July 11, 2022.