According to CalMatters, EVs in the Golden State are overwhelmingly concentrated in affluent communities dominated by white and Asian, college-educated and high-income residents.
Atherton, for example, is a small community in San Mateo County, Calif., boasts not only California's highest percentage of electric cars — one out of every seven, or 14% — but also an average home value of nearly $7.5 million and an average household income over half a million dollars. According to the data, the fact that Atherton is rich and full of EVs isn't a coincidence.
Most of the biggest EV clumps were found to be concentrated in Silicon Valley cities and affluent coastal areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, the central hubs of tech titans and Hollywood giants.
Most of the median household incomes in the top 10 communities for EV ownership exceed $200,000, much higher than the statewide $84,097, and typical home values exceed $3 million, according to CalMatters' analysis. At least three-quarters of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.
California has the highest concentrations of electric cars -- between 10.9% and 14.2% of all vehicles -- in areas where residents are at least 75% White and Asian.
While more EVs are found in wealthier places where mainly White and Asians are found, the inverse is true: EVs are almost non-existent in low-income California communities, especially with high populations of Black and Latino residents, ranging from zero to 2.6%.
California has a concerted effort to push EVs, and the demographic disparities are particularly striking. Under a state mandate last year, 35% of cars sold in California must be zero emissions beginning with 2026 models. In 2030, the figure went up to 68% of cars sold and 100% in 2035.
As more electric vehicles are on the road, we're going to need to be creative about policy solutions to address those issues to make sure that the benefits of owning an electric vehicle are shared across the demographics in the state of California and beyond, said Kevin Fingerman, associate professor of energy and climate at California State Polytechnic University Humboldt.
The cost of EV has been a big issue for EV proponents beyond California. The average cost of a new EV was $58,385, down from $65,000 last year, but still about $14,000 more than the average price for a non-luxury vehicle. Other issues for EVs include high upfront vehicle costs and a lack of chargers and access to public charging stations in low-income and rural communities.
Biden is pushing for EVs as a central solution to combating climate change and moving away from fossil fuels, which currently power most vehicles with gas or diesel fuel.
Biden said that his goal is to have half of all new vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2030 on the way to a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. The Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a tax credit incentive of up to $7,500, and tens of billions of dollars invested in various EV projects, the Biden administration has bolstered the EVs through Democrat-backed legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which also includes a tax credit incentive for buyers of EVs.
EVs are more expensive, and not just because of the retail price. Fuel costs for traditional internal combustion engine vehicles were cheaper in the last quarter of 2022 than EVs, according to Anderson Economic Group.