Highest Percentage Of Vehicles: Utah’s Surprising Car Ownership Stats

We love our cars in America. Since Henry Ford started pumping out cars for the masses, we have never looked back. But what you may not know is that people in Utah just might love their vehicles the most. At least when it comes to how many cars and trucks we own, the beehive state is near the top.  

Bankrate.com looked at car ownership by city. They looked at the “10 U.S. Metro Areas with the Highest Percentage of Vehicle Ownership” and Utah has three areas in the top 10. That includes the whole nation. Idaho had two on the list and the rest were scattered about. California did not have one make the 10. 

What Utah cities have a concentration of vehicles that are tops in Country?

#2 on the list was Provo-Orem

#5 was St. George

#8 Ogden-Clearfield

With such a high percentage of cars, it’s surprising the whole state isn’t a parking lot. 

They noted that more dense urban areas have access to public transportation making it less important to own a car. But they also noted less populated states like Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont are lower on the percentage of vehicle ownership as well. 

I think part of the reason car ownership is higher in Utah was noted in their study. From the website: 

There is a strong indication that because American households are growing in size, the number of vehicles is also increasing to accommodate them. 

With a younger population and slightly bigger families in Utah it means more teenagers who may need to get around. This is probably why our state has more three car families. So, until UTA puts a train from Bear Lake to the Grand Canyon, we’ll probably keep buying multiple cars.