In 1972 there were nearly 290,000 public gasoline stations serving 106 million vehicles nationwide. The number of public gasoline stations declined throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. By 1990 there were 174,000 public gasoline stations serving 179 million vehicles nationwide. In 2019 there are only 142,000 stations serving more than 276 million vehicles. According to a Lundberg Survey, gasoline gallons dispensed per station is at a record high.
Note: Includes all outlets open to the public and selling gasoline.
Sources: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 38, ORNL-TM/2019-1333, December 2019, Table 4.24.
Lundberg Survey, Inc., Lundberg Letter, Vol. XLVI, No. 18, September 24, 2019.