The starting place for Biden's electric vehicle charging push

President Biden hopes to oversee a huge build-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help boost EV deployment and create jobs, and recently released data shows there's plenty of room to grow.

Driving the news: The chart above is adapted from this Energy Department note on public charging stations per 100,000 residents of different states.

• California, the biggest EV market by far, is the only state that ranks in the top 10 in both population (#1) and chargers per capita (#3).
• Several other states atop the list of chargers per capita are pretty small population-wise.
• Vermont is way out front, then D.C. (not truly a state, I know), then California, then Hawaii and Colorado.
• Utah, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts round out the top 10.

Why it matters: Greater charging availability is one factor — but hardly the only one — that would help widen consumer adoption of cars with a plug.

• Biden's energy platform calls for the construction of 500,000 new public charging stations by the end of 2030.

What we're watching: What kind of funding and programs around EV charging he'll seek in the economic recovery package he'll look to steer through Congress after more immediate COVID-19 relief measures.