It's getting easier to charge your EV across California
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The number of public electric vehicle charging stations in California has more than doubled in the past four years, per federal data.
Why it matters: EVs and charging have been a chicken-and-egg-problem that's now getting a little easier.
- People won't buy an electric car unless they're confident they have somewhere to charge it.
- Companies won't invest in charging infrastructure without enough EV owners to plug in.
By the numbers: California is among the states with the most chargers — 18,224 public EV charging stations or about 46.8 EV stations per 100,000 residents.
- There are more than 152,300 total public and shared private chargers across California, per its dashboard.
- San Diego County has about 11,000 — one of the highest totals in the state.
- Nearly 2,000 public charging stations are in the city, 148 of which are free, according to PlugShare.
The big picture: There was a nationwide surge of public chargers, EV ownership and government funding under the Biden administration.
- The EV transition was a key part of Biden's climate agenda. He pushed a variety of policies — consumer EV tax credits, manufacturing incentives for carmakers and tougher tailpipe emissions laws — with the intent to make EVs account for 50% of new car sales by 2030.
Reality check: While charging might be getting easier, the U.S. is still far short of the estimated 1.2 million public chargers that will be needed by 2030.
- California is also behind on its goal. The state projects it will need a million public chargers by the end of 2030 to support the expected 7 million EVs on the road — nearly 10 times more than what's available today.
Zoom in: San Diego County is an EV hotspot and it's one of the top markets for EV-friendly homes.
- The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and the San Diego Association of Governments recently received $8 million from the state to install EV charging stations, as the city expands its network.
- Another federally-funded project will build 20 fast-chargers along the major freeways in the region.
State of play: California's EV push has also been crucial to cutting carbon emissions.
- The state was the first to ban the sale of all gas-powered cars by 2035. The landmark regulation is being phased in gradually, beginning with 35% of 2026 models, increasing to 68% in 2030 and reaching 100% in 2035.
- In the second quarter of 2024, EVs made up 25.7% of all new vehicle sales in California — the second highest market share ever recorded in the state.
What we're watching: EV sales are growing, but far off the expected pace.
- More affordable models could help drive momentum — even as President Trump kills the consumer tax credits as expected, and other pro-EV policies.