Americans drove 1.4 percent more miles in September 2023 than in the same month in 2019, according to data released by the Federal Highway Administration yesterday. Vehicle miles of travel (VMT) have exceeded 2019 numbers in seven out of the last twelve months.
Most of the increase in driving was in rural areas. Although September’s rural driving was 4.6 percent greater in 2023 than 2019, urban driving was only 0.1 percent greater. The increase in urban driving was on collector and local streets; freeway and arterial driving were still a little short of 100 percent of 2019 miles.
The biggest increases in September driving between 2019 and 2023 were in Arizona (32.5%), Alaska (19.2%), Idaho (15.1%), Florida (12.8%), North Dakota (12.7%), Montana (11.9%), Louisiana (11.3%), Kentucky (11.1%), and Maine (11.0%). The states where driving fell short the most were Hawaii (–22.0%), Delaware (–12.9%, New Jersey (–9.7%), West Virginia (–8.6%), Washington (–8.1%), New York (–7.1%), and Connecticut (–7.0%).
Driving first exceeded 100 percent of 2019 miles in June of 2021 and at first glance it doesn’t appear to have grown much since. In fact, in the last twelve months — call it fiscal year 2023 — Americans drove 1.4 percent more miles than in F.Y. 2022, during which they drove 2.9 percent more miles than F.Y. 2021. In the seven years prior to the pandemic, Americans drove an average of 1.4 percent more miles each year, so it appears the annual growth rate of driving is back on track after the 2020 decline due to the pandemic.
