THE STATE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

The report identifies a significant 'charging access gap' for U.S. residents in multifamily housing (MFH), who often lack on-site charging and must rely on public infrastructure. Analyzing 69 cities, the study found that no city achieved a 'best in class' ranking, with many cities—particularly in the Upper Midwest and Texas—showing high ratios of MFH units per public charger. The authors argue that this lack of reliable charging is a critical barrier to equitable EV adoption, especially for lower-income and non-white drivers. To address this, the report recommends a combination of EV-ready building codes, right-to-charge laws, curbside charging expansions, and streamlined utility interconnection rules.

• There is a widespread lack of public EV charging infrastructure to support multifamily housing (MFH) residents across the U.S., with no city among the 69 analyzed achieving a 'best in class' ranking.
• Regional analysis shows that the West Coast and Mountain West have higher concentrations of 'better' or 'good' charging access, while the Upper Midwest and Texas have the highest concentrations of 'bad' and 'worst' rankings.
• The five worst cities for public charging access for MFH residents—Milwaukee, Cape Coral, Hialeah, St. Petersburg, and Memphis—each have more than 500 MFH units for every single public charger available.
• Transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions per person are highest in St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, and Richmond, with emissions nearly double those of the lowest cities like New York City and San Jose.
• The U.S. is projected to need at least 28 million EV charging ports by 2030 to support an estimated 33 million EVs, with over 2 million of these needing to be public and private Level 2 chargers at MFH, workplaces, and other public sites.
• Right-to-charge laws, which prevent landlords or HOAs from restricting EV charging access, have been adopted in 12 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

APA

Baldwin, S., Kane, M., & Conness, J. (2024). THE STATE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-for-Multifamily-Housing.pdf

Chicago

Baldwin, Sara, Maddie Kane, and Jack Conness. THE STATE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. Energy Innovation, 2024. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-for-Multifamily-Housing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Baldwin |first1=Sara |last2=Kane |first2=Maddie |last3=Conness |first3=Jack |title=THE STATE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=October 2024 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-for-Multifamily-Housing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baldwin2024state, author = {Baldwin, Sara and Kane, Maddie and Conness, Jack}, title = {{THE STATE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/The-State-of-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-for-Multifamily-Housing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }