Pickup truck use in the United States spans household ownership, travel, vehicle age, fuel economy and new-vehicle demand. The figures below distinguish pickup-specific measures from broader car, truck, SUV, household-fleet and registered-vehicle statistics, with periods and survey definitions kept explicit.
Key Pickup Truck Use Statistics
The most useful pickup truck use statistics include:
- In 1977, pickups made up 12.8% of U.S. household vehicles.
- In 2001, pickups averaged 12,522 miles per vehicle in the U.S. household fleet.
- In the 2001 NHTS household fleet, pickups averaged 16.9 miles per gallon in the United States.
- In the FHWA table’s 2006 cost basis, pickup use cost 18.3 cents per mile.
- In 2017, the average U.S. household pickup was 13.12 years old.
- From 1977 to 2017, the total U.S. household vehicle fleet grew from 120 million to 223 million vehicles.
- In 2017, 48.5% of the U.S. household vehicle fleet was at least 10 years old.
- In model year 2012, pickups represented 10% of U.S. new-vehicle sales.
- In model year 2021, pickups represented 16% of U.S. new-vehicle sales.
- In model year 2021, the actual U.S. fleet mix was 37% car and 63% truck, where truck includes more than pickups.
- From 2012 to 2021, the average U.S. new-vehicle footprint grew from 48.9 to 51.5 square feet.
- In the 2022 NHTS, pickup-truck mileage-weighted occupancy was 1.32 persons per vehicle in the United States.
- In 2017, one-vehicle U.S. households drove about 11,100 miles in total.
- In 2017, households with more than five vehicles traveled about 41,800 miles in total.
- In 2017, U.S. household vehicles recorded 2.11 trillion vehicle miles.
- In 2024, average U.S. vehicle use was 11,071 miles per registered vehicle, a broader measure that is not pickup-specific.
Contents
- Key Pickup Truck Use Statistics
- Pickup Truck Fleet Share and Ownership Trends
- Pickup Truck Mileage, Fuel Economy and Operating Cost Data
- Pickup Truck Age, Household Fleet and Availability Statistics
- Pickup Truck Sales Trends and the Light-Truck Shift
- Pickup Truck Occupancy and Household Travel Patterns
- Pickup Truck Use in the Broader Vehicle-Travel Context
Pickup Truck Fleet Share and Ownership Trends
The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) tracks pickups as a household-vehicle category. Its long-run series shows pickup share rising through 2001 before declining in the later survey observations.
| NHTS year | Pickups as a share of U.S. household vehicles |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 12.8% |
| 1983 | 15.2% |
| 1990 | 17.2% |
| 1995 | 17.7% |
| 2001 | 18.4% |
| 2009 | 17.8% |
| 2017 | 15.9% |
Source: 2017 National Household Travel Survey Summary of Travel Trends. The NHTS is household-based; 2009 excluded households without landline telephones, while 2017 used an address-based sample, so the series is not a perfectly uniform panel.
Pickup age moved upward across the same survey history. Average age was 7.30 years in 1977, 8.54 years in 1983, 8.43 years in 1990, 9.65 years in 1995, 10.05 years in 2001, 11.10 years in 2009 and 13.12 years in 2017.
These are NHTS average ages for household pickups, not sales-weighted registration estimates. The pattern describes an older household pickup fleet over time, while the survey-method changes limit precise year-to-year interpretation.
Pickup Truck Mileage, Fuel Economy and Operating Cost Data
The FHWA’s Highway Statistics 2005 table pairs 2001 NHTS household-fleet characteristics with an operating-cost column using a 2006 cost basis. That distinction matters: the cost figure is not a current ownership-cost estimate.
| Measure | Pickup result | Period and population |
|---|---|---|
| Annual miles per vehicle | 12,522 | 2001 NHTS, U.S. household pickups |
| Fuel economy | 16.9 mpg | 2001 NHTS, U.S. household pickups |
| Operating cost | 18.3 cents per mile | 2006 cost basis, pickup estimate |
| Household vehicle share | 18.20% | 2001 NHTS, U.S. household vehicles |
| Vehicles available per household | 9.1 | 2001 comparison table, pickup row |
Source: Highway Statistics 2005: NT6 Household-Based Fleet Characteristics. The household-availability figure is reported as the pickup row’s average household vehicle availability.
The same 2001 comparison gives context without making the other vehicle categories pickup statistics: cars averaged 11,755 annual miles, vans 13,541, SUVs 14,091 and the overall household fleet 12,111. Those figures are benchmark rows from the same table, not current model-year ratings or later travel estimates.
Pickup Truck Age, Household Fleet and Availability Statistics
The NHTS also reports older-vehicle shares for combined categories rather than pickups alone. In 1977, 23.4% of Van/Pickup household vehicles were at least 10 years old; the comparable shares were 31.8% in 1983 and 32.2% in 1990.
From 1995 onward, the category expands to Van/SUV/Pickup. At least 10 years old were 33.7% of these vehicles in 1995, 35.4% in 2001 and 36.6% in 2009.
| Measure | Earlier observation | Later observation |
|---|---|---|
| Total U.S. household vehicle fleet | 120 million in 1977 | 223 million in 2017 |
| Household fleet at least 10 years old | — | 48.5% in 2017 |
| Average household vehicle age | 6.6 years in 1977 | 10.27 years in 2017 |
| Van/SUV/Pickup average age | 8.3 years in 1995 | 9.0 years in 2009 |
Source: 2017 National Household Travel Survey Summary of Travel Trends. The combined age categories are not pickup-only, and the fleet totals are rounded household-fleet values rather than all registered vehicles.
The broad fleet context helps explain why pickup ownership figures should not be read as a direct measure of new sales. A household may retain an older pickup, operate several vehicles or use the pickup for only part of the household’s travel.
Pickup Truck Sales Trends and the Light-Truck Shift
EPA regulatory analysis separates pickups from broader light-truck and car/truck categories. In model year 2012, passenger vehicles were 64% of U.S. new-vehicle sales and light trucks were 36%; the light-truck category includes more than pickups.
The same EPA series reports pickup trucks rising from 10% of new-vehicle sales in 2012 to 16% in 2021. Sedans moved in the opposite direction, from 55% of fleet sales in 2012 to 26% in 2021.
| EPA measure | 2012 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup share of new-vehicle sales | 10% | 16% |
| Sedan share of fleet sales | 55% | 26% |
| Actual car/truck fleet mix | — | 37% car / 63% truck |
| Average vehicle footprint | 48.9 sq. ft. | 51.5 sq. ft. |
Source: Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles Regulatory Impact Analysis. EPA’s truck category includes more than pickups, and the footprint is fleet-wide rather than pickup-bed area.
EPA estimated that the 2021 car/truck mix alone raised the fleet-average GHG standard by 14 grams per mile versus the originally projected mix. The larger average footprint alone raised the target by 8 grams per mile versus the 2012 footprint, while the combined effects made 2021 standards 22 grams per mile higher than originally projected; these are regulatory-analysis estimates, not direct pickup-use outcomes.
Pickup Truck Occupancy and Household Travel Patterns
The 2022 NHTS mileage-weighted occupancy factor for pickup trucks was 1.32 persons per vehicle. FHWA warns that small samples can make results unreliable, so this factor should be treated as a survey estimate rather than a universal occupancy rate.
| Vehicle category | 2022 mileage-weighted occupancy |
|---|---|
| Pickup truck | 1.32 persons per vehicle |
| Car | 1.40 persons per vehicle |
| All vehicles | 1.52 persons per vehicle |
| SUV/crossover | 1.67 persons per vehicle |
| Van | 2.06 persons per vehicle |
Source: 2022 NHTS Weighted Vehicle Occupancy Factors. The comparison categories are not pickup-use measures, but they show the pickup factor’s position within the same 2022 table.
Household vehicle count also changes how vehicles are used. EIA’s summary of the 2017 NHTS found that one-vehicle U.S. households drove about 11,100 miles in total, while the most-used vehicle in a two-vehicle household traveled about 14,600 miles.
In households with five or more vehicles, the most-used vehicle traveled about 18,600 miles in 2017, while households with more than five vehicles traveled about 41,800 miles in total. Average use per vehicle peaked at about 11,000 miles in a two-vehicle household and was about 6,700 miles in a six-vehicle household.
Source: U.S. households with more vehicles travel more but use additional vehicles less. These household-mile figures are not pickup-specific; the primary vehicle may be any vehicle type.
Pickup Truck Use in the Broader Vehicle-Travel Context
National travel measures provide scale but should not be mislabeled as pickup statistics. U.S. household vehicles recorded 2.11 trillion vehicle miles in 2017, down from 2.25 trillion miles in 2009; the comparison is a survey-series result with changes in methods and coverage.
The 2022 NHTS vehicle-trips page reports 160,953 million travel-day vehicle trips across all income groups. The measure covers household vehicle trips across vehicle types, not pickup-only trips.
Source: National Household Travel Survey: Vehicle Trips.
FHWA’s national registered-vehicle series reports 3.3 trillion miles of U.S. road travel in 2024 and average use of 11,071 miles per registered vehicle. Average vehicle use peaked at 12,211 miles per vehicle in 1998 and fell to 10,523 miles per vehicle in 2020.
Source: Our Nation’s Highways 2026: Vehicles. These figures divide national road travel among registered vehicles and include all vehicle types, so they are context for pickup demand rather than pickup-use measurements.