United States Fast Facts

Data are for 2007 unless otherwise noted.

Transportation System Extent

All public roads: 4.03 million miles
Interstate: 46,672 miles
Road bridges: 601,470¹
Class I railroad trackage: 94,801 miles (2006)
Inland waterways: 29,627 miles
Public use airports: 5,221

Vehicles and Conveyances

Automobiles registered: 135.9 million
Light trucks registered: 101.5 million
Heavy trucks registered: 9.0 million
Buses registered: 0.8 million
Motorcycles registered: 7.1 million
Rail transit systems²: 22 commuter rail, 15 heavy rail (subway), 33 light rail
Recreational boats registered: 12.9 million

Geographic

Land area: 3.5 million sq. miles⁴
Percent of land area owned by federal government: 28.8³
Persons per square mile: 85.3
Highest point: Mt. McKinley, AK
(20,320 ft.)
Lowest point: Death Valley, CA (–282 ft.)

Government Subdivisions

County governments: 3,033
Municipal governments: 19,492
Town governments: 16,519
Congressional districts: 435¹

Demographic

Population: 301.6 million
Percent urban population: 79⁴

Socioeconomic

Gross domestic product: $11.7 trillion in chained (2000) dollars ($14.3 trillion in current dollars)¹
Civilian labor force: 154.3 million¹
Median household income: $50,7401

Commuting (percent of workers)

Car, truck, or van—drove alone: 76.1
Car, truck, or van—carpooled: 10.4
Public transportation: 4.9
Walked: 2.8
Taxicab, motorcycle, bicycled or other means: 1.7
Worked at home: 4.1

¹2008
²2006
³2004
⁴2000

U.S. Department of Transportation

Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20590
1-800-853-1351
http://www.bts.gov

Sources

Transportation System Extent
All public roads, Interstate: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2007, Washington, DC: 2008, table HM-20; available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of March 2009.
Road bridges: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Bridge Technology, National Bridge Inventory: Highway Bridge by Owner, Washington, DC: 2008, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/britab.cfm as of March 2009.
Class I railroad trackage: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts, Washington, DC: annual issues.
Inland waterways: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navigation Data Center, National Waterway Network, January 2008.
Public use airports: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Administrator’s Fact Book, Washington, DC:  2008, p.16, available at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/aba/admin_factbook/ as of March 2009.

Vehicles and Conveyances
Automobiles, light trucks, heavy trucks, buses, motorcycles: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2007, Washington, DC: 2009, tables MV-1 and VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of March 2009.
Rail transit systems: American Public Transportation Association, 2008 Public Transportation Fact Book, Washington, DC: 2008, available at http://www.apta.com/research/stats/factbook/documents08/2008_fact_book_final_part_1.pdf as of March 2009.
Recreational boats: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Boating Statistics, 2007, Washington, DC: 2007, available at http://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_stats.htm as of March 2009.

Geographic
U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, Washington, DC: 2009, available at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ as of March 2009.
Government Subdivisions: Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, Washington, DC: 2009, table 410, available at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ as of March 2009.

Demographic
Population, Percent urban population: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, Washington, DC: 2008, available at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ as of March 2009.

Socioeconomic
Gross domestic product: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Account Tables, available at http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=N as of March 2009.
Civilian labor force: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, available at ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.cpseea1.txt as of March 2009.
Median household income: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Earnings and Poverty Data from the 2007 American Community Survey, available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/acs-09.pdf as of March 2009.

Commuting
U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey, available at http://factfinder.census.gov as of March 2009.