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Registered vehicles per 1,000 residents: United States, Canada and Mexico compared

Registered road motor vehicles per 1,000 residents, nationally and for each state, province, territory and estado (all three rates derived from official registration counts and population estimates). Each figure keeps its own source, reference period and definition; read the notes before comparing.

National values

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table MV-1: State Motor-Vehicle Registrations
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2024 resident population (denominator). Reference period: 2024.

Source: Statistics Canada, Table 23-10-0308-01: Vehicle registrations, by type of vehicle and fuel type
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0005-01: Population estimates on July 1, by age and gender. Reference period: 2025.

Source: INEGI, Vehículos de Motor Registrados en Circulación (VMRC), datos abiertos, annual municipal data (vmrc_anual_csv.zip), latest year, summed to states
Source: CONAPO (Consejo Nacional de Población), Proyecciones de la Población de México y de las Entidades Federativas 2020–2070: Indicadores demográficos (file 05_Indicadores_demograficos_proyecciones.csv), mid-year population (POB_MIT_AÑO) used as the rate denominator. Reference period: 2023.

States, provinces and estados

United States Canada Mexico (hatched)

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table MV-1: State Motor-Vehicle Registrations
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, July 1, 2024 resident population (denominator). Reference period: 2024.

Source: Statistics Canada, Table 23-10-0308-01: Vehicle registrations, by type of vehicle and fuel type
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0005-01: Population estimates on July 1, by age and gender. Reference period: 2025.

Source: INEGI, Vehículos de Motor Registrados en Circulación (VMRC), datos abiertos, annual municipal data (vmrc_anual_csv.zip), latest year, summed to states
Source: CONAPO (Consejo Nacional de Población), Proyecciones de la Población de México y de las Entidades Federativas 2020–2070: Indicadores demográficos (file 05_Indicadores_demograficos_proyecciones.csv), mid-year population (POB_MIT_AÑO) used as the rate denominator. Reference period: 2023.

How the countries differ

• Caution: what is counted differs. The U.S. figure (Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics table MV-1) counts all registered motor vehicles: cars, trucks of every size, buses and motorcycles. Canada's (Statistics Canada table 23-10-0308-01) counts only light vehicles weighing 4,536 kg or less, so heavy trucks, buses and most motorcycles are left out and Canada's rate is understated against the other two. Mexico's (INEGI, Vehículos de Motor Registrados en Circulación) counts cars, cargo trucks and vans, passenger buses and motorcycles.
• All three rates are derived by Quadranac: registered vehicles ÷ resident population × 1,000 (U.S.: Census Bureau July 1 population estimate; Canada: Statistics Canada July 1 population estimate; Mexico: CONAPO mid-year population projection; each for the same year as the vehicle count).
• Reference years differ (United States 2024, Canada 2025, Mexico 2023).
• Registration rules differ: fleet vehicles are registered where the owner is based, which can inflate some states' and provinces' rates (for example where rental or trucking fleets register), and Mexican registers can keep vehicles that are no longer on the road.
• Compare areas within each country with confidence; across countries, treat differences as indicative only.

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