Despite Strong EV Infrastructure, Portland Lags in Electric Vehicle Adoption

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland is named as one of the best American cities for electric car owners in a study undertaken by Texas Electricity Ratings.

Portland city offers 35 fuel stations and 101 charging stations per 100,000 residents.

Using data provided by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and Statista, researchers investigated the number of fuel stations and charging ports for electric vehicles (EVs) in 124 cities with populations exceeding 200,000 residents.

Several Smaller Cities Outperformed More Densely Populated Urban Areas

Karl Trollinger, CEO of Texas Electricity Ratings, says population size did not play a significant role in the ranking, as several smaller cities outperformed larger and more populated urban areas.

Trollinger says it is crucial that cities invest in sufficient infrastructure as the EV market is expected to reach 2.29 million vehicles by 2029. Increased infrastructure is particularly relevant to more rural areas where EV owners fear becoming stranded, he says.

Neighboring States Also Fared Well

Portland achieved the 41^st position, while neighboring California is named as home to 16 of the best cities for electric car owners.

The California cities of Irvine and Anaheim achieved first and second positions in the Top 10. Irvine has 174 fuel stations and 396 charging ports, while Anaheim has 156 fuel stations and 362 charging ports. The other two California cities are San Jose in 4^th position and Santa Ana in 6^th position.

Neighboring Washington’s city of Seattle clinched the 10^th position with 90 fuel stations and 212 charging ports.

The other cities in the Top 10 are Boston 3^rd, Atlanta 5^th, Washington DC 7^th, Salt Lake City 8^th, and Columbus. 9^th.