Low-car households account for nearly 500% of San Diego’s growth since 2005

I’m actually more surprised than you are to learn this, but San Diego has both Portland and Los Angeles beat by a wide, wide margin. Between 2005 and 2011, nearly 500% of the city of San Diego’s growth was in low-car households defined as “households with fewer vehicles than working adults”*.

This data shows a huge shift in how San Diegans are transporting themselves. I don’t know if you’re as incredulous as I am to learn this, but this data is definitely something I would have never expected to learn.

Younger Americans are driving less and based on the data above, San Diegans are hungrier than ever to have additional options to get around. If this data doesn’t make the decision makers in this city and region really sit up and take notice and act, I doubt anything will.

Much thanks to Michael Anderson from Bike Portland for sharing his methodology.

*Using Shane Phillip’s definition, “this is a conservative estimate. The numbers exclude households with adults who aren’t working and don’t own cars (presumably including the elderly and retired), as well as households with one working adult and one car, even though many of these households are likely to be couples with one working parent and one stay-at-home parent. Unfortunately, the survey data didn’t differentiate between these households and those with only one adult.” 

Further more, the data per the ACS is “limited to the household population and exclude the population living in institutions, college dormitories, and other group quarters.”