How many licensed drivers are there in the US?
We’ve tracked automotive data and statistics for two decades, and here are some facts on how many people drive in the US. In 2024, there are a projected 239.24 million licensed drivers in the US, which includes 91% of US residents of driving age. That’s up from 236.4 million in 2023.
Need to know even more about how many drivers are in the USA? What’s the percentage of Americans with driver’s licenses? This information isn’t always easy to find, so we put some stats together on the number of licensed drivers in the USA and how many Americans drive.
This includes our projection of licensed drivers through 2025. Scroll down!
More than nine out of 10 adult Americans drive. That’s 239.2 million people who drive in the US.
We pulled data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). We also pulled additional data for our analysis and projections.
Note: click for even more automotive aftermarket trends and stats on this page.
What percentage of American adults have a driver’s license
91% of all American adults have a driver’s license in 2024. That’s up from 89% in 2020 and 90% 2021-2022. That counts everyone from 18 years old and up.
Overall there are more licensed drivers in California than any other state, with over 27 million licensed drivers. 88% of the population of California that is of driving age is a licensed driver.
The second highest state of licensed drivers is Texas, with 18.3 million, followed by Florida with over 16 million licensed drivers.
A distant fourth place is held by Pennsylvania with just over 9 million licensed drivers, followed by Illinois (8.3 million) and Ohio (8.28 million).
All numbers are from the FHWA Office of Highway Policy Information 2021 report, the most current available as of this writing.
The state with the highest percentage of licensed drivers vs. the driving age population isn’t event a state, it’s the District of Columbia.
In fact, the US states with the highest percentage of licensed drivers are geographically near to D.C. According to FHWA statistics D.C. is at 168%, which doesn’t make sense until you consider a transient/commuting population with homes in multiple states, and people with multiple licenses (private and commercial).
New York and Maryland are next, tied at 108%, followed by New Jersey at 104%. Massachusetts is at 98%.
The state with the lowest percentage of licensed drivers vs. the driving age population is Montana. In fact, the US states with the lowest percentage of licensed drivers are all geographically next to or near Montana.
According to FHWA statistics 42% of Montana adults have a license. They’re followed by Wyoming and Iowa, tied at 52%, then Iowa and North Dakota, tied at 61%.
After that, Idaho comes in at 66%. Next is Alaska at 67%, which is not near any other US state at all.
| Year | Licensed Drivers in US |
|---|---|
| 2025 (proj.) | 242,112,000 |
| 2024 (proj.) | 239,241,000 |
| 2023 | 236,404,000 |
| 2022 | 233,644,000 |
| 2021 | 232,782,000 |
| 2020 | 228,196,000 |
| 2019 | 228,914,000 |
| 2018 | 225,721,700 |
| 2017 | 223,707,325 |
| 2016 | 221,711,918 |
| 2015 | 218,084,465 |
| 2014 | 214,092,472 |
| 2013 | 212,159,728 |
| 2012 | 211,814,830 |
| 2011 | 211,874,649 |
| 2010 | 210,114,939 |
| 2009 | 209,618,386 |
Statistics on number of drivers in the US
How many Americans drive? In the post-war 1950s, the number of drivers in the USA increased an average of 3.6% every year.
In the next decade, the 1960s, the number of drivers in the USA increased at a lower average of 2.51% each year.
The 1970s saw the annual increase rise slightly to 2.84%, but we’ve never had an annual growth rate like we had in the 1950s.
The 1980s were much slower in terms of annual year-over-year growth, with an average of a 1.46% increase in the number of licensed drivers in the US.
In the 1990s that continued to drop, to an average annual increase of 1.24%.
The 2000s saw a continued slowdown with an average annual growth of 1.14%.
The 2010s had the lowest growth since the 1950s, at 0.81%. In fact, 2012 was the first year with a decline in licensed drivers in the US from the previous year. (It happened again in 2020 during the pandemic.)
In the 2020s the growth rate in licensed drivers has rebounded a bit. It is hovering around 1% per year and less. We’re now projecting over 239 million licensed drivers by 2024 and 242 million by 2025.
One thing slowing down the number of licenses issued: miles driven per year. Miles driven decreased in 2020 during the pandemic and that had a negative impact on total licensed drivers.
Miles driven per year peaked at February, 2020, at a 12-month moving average of 3.28 million miles. It bottomed out one year later at 2.87 million miles.
Miles driven per year in 2023 recovered to pre-pandemic levels. And with that, a slight uptick in licenses issued.
Licensed drivers by age
We looked at how many drivers are in the USA by age. Here is the percentage of Americans with driver’s licenses compared to the total population, using statistics from the Federal Office of Highway Policy Information.
Across all age groups, 91% of all Americans have a driver’s license. The lowest percentage of total licensed drivers is among 16- to 19-year-olds, where just 39.5% of the population has a driver’s license.
Statistics are from the 2023 Highway Statistics Series, the most recent data available as of this writing, plus projections by Hedges & Company.
| Age Group | % With License |
|---|---|
| All ages | 91% |
| 19 and Under | 39.5% |
| 20 to 24 | 81.0% |
| 25 to 39 | 89.9% |
| 40 to 49 | 91.4% |
| 50 to 69 | 92.6% |
| 70 to 84 | 89.3% |
| 85 and older | 69.1% |
Percentage of adults without a driver’s license
About 9% of adult Americans don’t have a valid driver’s license. The age groups with the highest percentage without a driver’s license are 19 years old and under (60.5%), 85 and older (30.9%) and 20 to 24 (19.0%).
How many people drive in the US?
Excluding legal, licensed drivers, it’s difficult to determine exactly how many people drive in the US. On one hand, some people without a driver’s license drive illegally. On the other hand, some people with a valid license don’t drive and have a license for identification purposes, or they just prefer to not drive. Some people may choose to not drive due to health reasons. It’s probably safe to assume that at least 235 million to 240 million Americans actually drive.
Driver’s licenses by men and women
The question, “how many drivers are in the USA?” often also leads to gender questions. The split between driver’s licenses held by male licensed drivers and female licensed drivers is very even. Based on recent data, 49.3% of all licensed drivers are male and 50.7% are female.
Part of the reason the percentage is higher for female licensed drivers is related to life expectancy. For drivers 85 and older, 53.3% of licensed drivers are female, 46.7% are male.
In a younger age bracket, ages up to 24, that ratio favors males. 51.4% of all 24-year-old and under licensed drivers are male, 48.6% are female.
Number of drivers in the world
It is estimated there are about 1.4 billion drivers in the world, but the number may be higher and closer to 2 billion. Here’s why it is difficult to come up with a number: Although about 91% of the US population is a licensed driver, the percentage of drivers around the world is closer to 16% to 17%. It is nearly impossible to determine how many licensed drivers there are in the world because different countries enforce driving differently. Some third-world countries may not enforce licensing or testing very much, or at all. The total number of drivers in the world is easier to determine than the number of licensed drivers in the world.
How many Uber drivers are there? How many Uber drivers in the US?
If you need to know how many Uber drivers there are, in 2022 Uber claimed there were 5.4 million monthly active drivers and couriers worldwide. Drivers are in 69 countries. That’s up from 2018 when Uber said there were 3 million Uber drivers around the world, in 65 countries.
The Ride Share Guy estimated there were between 1.5 and 2.5 million Uber drivers in the US in 2019. Cnet estimated 1 million Uber drivers in the US in 2019.
According to CNN there were 750,000 Uber drivers in the US in 2017. Business Insider claimed there were 327,000 Uber drivers in the US in 2015. Ride sharing declined significantly with the impact of COVID but seems to be recovering. If you need the NAICS code for Uber drivers follow this link.
How many Lyft drivers in the USA?
It has been claimed that there are 700,000 Lyft drivers in the United States and 1.5 million around the world. CNet cites a report of 1.4 million Lyft drivers in the US. If you need the NAICS code for Lyft drivers follow this link.
How many CDL drivers in the USA?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) there were 2,192,300 heavy-duty truck and tractor-trailer drivers in the US in 2022. That’s up from 1,871,700 in 2016. This is projected at 2,060,500 by 2029. These drivers must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL).
The BLS is forecasting an increase in 30,600 jobs through 2029 with a 4% growth rate.
Sources for this article, including number of licensed drivers, are the US Census Bureau, the Federal Highway Administration and Department of Transportation, with additional analysis by Hedges & Company.
