Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute

As of October 2024, the U.S. has 12,241 electric school bus commitments, with nearly 5,000 already in operation. Adoption is heavily driven by the EPA's Clean School Bus Program, which has prioritized high-poverty, rural, and tribal districts. While California remains the leader in total buses, adoption is increasing across the Midwest and New England. The report highlights that 62% of committed buses are in districts with the highest shares of low-income households and 85% are in districts with the highest percentages of people of color.

• As of October 1, 2024, there are 12,241 electric school bus commitments in the U.S., with 4,958 buses already delivered or in operation. These buses serve approximately 254,000 students across 49 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and seven tribal schools.
• The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean School Bus Program is the primary driver of adoption, funding 67% (8,125) of all electric school bus commitments. The program has awarded nearly $3 billion to over 1,200 school districts. Furthermore, 89% of the program's funds and 84% of its awarded buses were directed toward "priority" school districts, including those with high poverty levels, rural districts, and Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded districts.
• California leads the U.S. in ESB adoption with over 3,110 committed buses, which is more than four times the amount of the next leading state, New York (764 commitments). While the West previously held more than half of all commitments, the distribution is becoming more even; the West now represents 34%, the South 30%, the Northeast 20%, and the Midwest 15%.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-07/state-of-electric-school-buses-november-2024.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-07/state-of-electric-school-buses-november-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US _ World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-07/state-of-electric-school-buses-november-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwhere, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Where Electric School Buses Are Being Used in the US \_ World Resources Institute}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-07/state-of-electric-school-buses-november-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }