The market for electric vehicles in the US is not so much in a downturn (though it is) because of the death of the federal EV tax credit as it is volatile. It’s really more of a state-by-state thing rather than a national thing, according to real estate and market intelligence firm Yardi Matrix.
To be sure, the 10 best states in which to own an EV are all the usual suspects, when counting EV registrations, national EV share, zero emissions vehicle policy, and public charging availability, according to the firm:
How EV-Ready Is Your State in 2026?
- California
Yardi Matrix States ranked from most to least favorable for electric vehicle ownership, across five factors: registrations, infrastructure, electricity cost, policy support, and grid cleanliness. - Washington
- Colorado
- Oregon
- Utah
- Nevada
- Maryland
- Hawaii
- Vermont
- Massachusetts
The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.
It has no ZEV mandates and “minimal” incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
Other quickly switching states are Montana, at 487% EV registration growth over five years; Arkansas, at 454%; New Jersey, at 422%; and Nevada, at 420%, the report says.
Paradoxically, Arkansas also is considered among the bottom five states for the prospect of EV ownership, according to Yardi. While the state has had nearly fivefold EV growth in the last five years, it still has a small fraction of US market share, especially after end of the tax credits.
Last week, Cox Automotive’s analysts reported EV sales are down 3.6% in the first half of this year compared with H1 of 2025. But of that first half, second-quarter 2026 EV sales are up 13.9% compared to the first quarter. While the US market has now had three quarters to adjust to the lack of EV tax credits, the US-Israeli war on Iran, which led to blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, most certainly had some effect on EV sales especially in states with cheap electricity rates, like Oklahoma.
EV market share was 10 percent in the third quarter of 2025, just before the tax credit died, Cox Auto says. In the first quarter of this year, it was 5.4%. But the result of those EV salad days, coinciding with the COVID pandemic, is there are 6.7 million EVs registered in the US, three times the 2021 total, according to Yardi.
What really caught our eye from the Yardi data the states where renters have best access to EV charging. Having a charger in a garage where your EV shares space with one or more ICE-powered vehicles is one thing, but making easy overnight charging available to commuters who live in apartments and other multi-family residences is considered a key factor for widespread electric vehicle adaptation.
Even before President Trump’s 2026 budget bill killed off the tax incentives, his executive order pen scratched out the Biden administration’s National Electric Vehicle Charging Network, which had barely begun to start spreading chargers across the nation’s interstate highways.
At the peak of that Biden-era EV euphoria, June 2024, we reported that EV charging infrastructure had become an expected standard item for new-construction multi-unit housing complexes, according to Autotech Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in high tech for mobility. With EV adaptation on the downward slope of that peak, the chances you’ll get a charger at your new apartment building for your Rivian or Slate depends on where you live.
“When federal incentives evaporated, state building codes moved in,” says Doug Ressler, business intelligence manager for Yardi Matrix.
This January 1, California Title 24, the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) required all assigned parking spaces in multi-family properties must be “EV ready” and a quarter of assigned spaces must have fully installed Level 2 chargers.
“EV ready” means there is a full recharging station for each apartment unit, Ressler says. “EV capable,” with wiring in place to add a charger, is more common.
“The real key is fast chargers versus slow chargers,” he says. Because EVs are likely to be parked at multi-family homes for long periods of time, less-expensive slow chargers make the best bet, as they do not deplete battery life the way fast chargers do.
Several US cities also have their own requirements, Ressler says, with Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta ,and Austin, Texas (near Tesla headquarters) leading the way. Major markets with no regs include Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Nashville, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Reno.
There is a downside, Ressler says, in that EV charging requirements create disincentives for much-needed low-income and affordable housing in many markets. There also are high-density cities where local governments are working to limit the number of parking spaces to fewer than one per housing unit.
Where Renters Have the Best Access to EV Charging
Bottom five for renters with EVs are 1.) Mississippi at 0.1%, 2.) North Dakota at 0.4%, 3.) Alaska at 0.6%, and 4.) Oklahoma, Delaware and South Dakota, all tied at 1.1%.
