United States Fast Facts

Transportation System Extent

All public roads: 3.97 million miles
Interstate: 46,508 miles
Road bridges: 590,111
Class I railroad trackage: 99,126 miles
Inland waterways: 29,627 miles
Public use airports: 5,286 (628 certificated for air carrier operations)

Vehicles and Conveyances

Automobiles registered: 135.7 million
Light trucks registered: 87.0 million
Heavy trucks registered: 7.9 million
Buses registered: 0.8 million
Motorcycles registered: 5.4 million
Rail transit systems: 21 commuter rail, 14 heavy rail (subway), 28 light rail
Recreational boats registered: 12.8 million

Geographic

Land area: 3.5 million sq. miles¹
Percent of land area owned by federal government: 29.6
Persons per square mile: 79.6¹
Highest point: Mt. McKinley, AK
(20,320 ft.)
Lowest point: Death Valley, CA (–282 ft.)

Goverment Subdivisions

County governments: 3,034²
Municipal governments: 19,429²
Town governments: 16,504²
Congressional districts: 435

Demographic

Population: 290.8 million
Percent urban population: 79¹

Socioeconomic

Gross domestic product: $11.0 trillion
Civilian labor force: 146.5 million
Median household income: $43,318

Commuting (percent of workers)¹

Car, truck, or van—drove alone: 75.7
Car, truck, or van—carpooled: 12.2
Public transportation (including taxi): 4.7
Walked: 2.9
Other means: 1.2
Worked at home: 3.3

U.S. Department of Transportation

Bureau of Transportation Statistics
400 7^th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-DATA (3282)
http://www.bts.gov

¹ 2000

² 2002

NOTE:  Data are for 2003 unless otherwise noted.