United States Fast Facts

Data are for 2004 unless otherwise noted.

Transportation System Extent

All public roads: 3.98 million miles
Interstate: 46,573 miles
Road bridges: 591,078
Class I railroad trackage: 97,496 miles (98,944 miles in 2003)
Inland waterways: 29,627 miles
Public-use airports: 5,288 (599 certificated for air carrier operations)

Vehicles and Conveyances

Automobiles registered: 136.4 million
Light trucks registered: 91.8 million
Heavy trucks registered: 8.2 million
Buses registered: 0.8 million
Motorcycles registered: 5.8 million
Rail transit systems¹: 20 commuter rail, 14 heavy rail (subway), 28 light rail
Recreational boats registered: 12.8 million

Geographic

Land area: 3.5 million sq. miles²
Percent of land area owned by federal government: 29.6¹
Persons per square mile: 79.6²
Highest point: Mt. McKinley, AK (20,320 ft.)
Lowest point: Death Valley, CA (-282 ft.)

Government Subdivisions

County governments: 3,034³
Municipal governments: 19,429³
Town governments: 16,504³
Congressional districts: 435

Demographic

Population: 293.7 million
Percent urban population: 79²

Socioeconomic

Gross Domestic Product: $11.7 trillion
Civilian labor force: 147.4 million
Median household income: $44,684

Commuting (percentage of workers)

Car, truck, or vandrove alone: 77.7
Car, truck, or vancarpooled: 10.1
Public transportation: 4.6
Walked: 2.4
Bicycled: 0.4
Taxicab, motorcycle or other means: 1.1
Worked at home: 3.8

¹2003

²2000

³2002

Sources

Transportation System Extent
All public roads, Interstate: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2004, Washington, DC: forthcoming, table HM-20.
Road bridges: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Bridge Technology, National Bridge Inventory: Highway Bridge by Owner, Washington, DC: 2005, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/britab.htm as of Oct. 13, 2005.
Class I railroad trackage: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts, Washington, DC: annual issues, p. 3
Inland waterways: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navigation Data Center, National Waterway Network, October 2004.
Public use airports: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Administrators Fact Book, Washington, DC: November 2005, p. 16., available at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/aba/admin_factbook/ as of Dec. 28, 2005.

Vehicles and Conveyances
Automobiles, light trucks, heavy trucks, buses, motorcycles: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2004, Washington, DC: forthcoming, table VM-1.
Rail transit systems: American Public Transportation Association, 2005 Public Transportation Fact Book, Washington, DC: 2005, available at http://www.apta.com/research/stats/rail/index.cfm as of Sept. 21, 2005.
Recreational boats: U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard, Boating Statistics, 2004, Washington, DC: 2005, available at http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/Boating_Statistics_2004.pdf as of Oct. 12, 2005.

Geographic
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004/2005, Washington, DC: 2005, available at http://www.census.gov/statab/www/ as of Dec. 14, 2005.

Government Subdivisions
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004/2005, Washington, DC: 2005, available at http://www.census.gov/statab/www/ as of Dec. 14, 2005.

Demographic
Population: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Population by Race Alone and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States and States: July 1, 2004, available at http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/SC-EST2004-04.html as of Dec. 12, 2005.
Percent urban population: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Urban and Rural Population: 1900 to 1990, available at http://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/urpop0090.txt as of Dec. 12, 2005.

Socioeconomic
Gross Domestic Product: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Current-Dollar and "Real" Gross Domestic Product, available at http://www.bea.gov/bea/dn/gdplev.xls as of Nov. 30, 2005
Civilian labor force: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/ as of Dec. 19, 2005.
Median household income: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 American Community Survey, United States Fact Sheet, available at http://factfinder.census.gov as of Nov. 28, 2005.

Commuting
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 American Community Survey, United States, Commuting Characteristics by Sex, available at http://factfinder.census.gov as of Nov. 28, 2005.