California now has more EV charging stations than gas pumps

California has once again proven why it is at the forefront of the EV revolution in the US. Its charging infrastructure has grown in leaps and bounds and now rivals traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) refueling facilities, as EV chargers outnumber gas pumps.

According to state energy data, EV owners in the Golden State now have access to over 178,000 charging stations, compared to about 120,000 gas station nozzles for their ICE-loving counterparts. This accounting does not consider home charging solutions, which have been estimated at about one million.

According to Professor Gil Tal of the UC Davis Research Center, the growth is primarily driven by business owners installing chargers to attract customers to their premises and boost sales, "We see commercial retail places that know that if you stop to charge by their place, you are most likely to spend a little bit more money while waiting for your car to charge."

California leads EV adoption in the US by a wide margin. It has 3026 EVs per 100,000 people, according to 2024 data from Visual Capitalist. Washington comes second at 1805.

About a quarter of new cars sold in California are electric, but more chargers are expected to further change perceptions of EV ownership. The state has banned sales of all new fossil fuel-powered cars from 2035. It is complementing this with over $1 billion earmarked for building out its EV charging and hydrogen refueling stations.