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Finding more juice for your electric car might be something of a scavenger hunt in certain states across the U.S.

A new study from the nonprofit Pew Trusts found that public electric charging stations are harder to come by in certain parts of the country. States like Alaska and North Dakota only have 26 and 36 public chargers, respectively. That's throughout the entire state. Electric vehicle owners might want to look elsewhere for new homes.

California crushes it as the only state with more than 4,000 stations. Throughout the Golden State you'll find a whooping 22,620 stations to recharge your EV.

The runner-up is Florida with 3,384 stations, according to a ranking from the charging data on Fox Business. That's so far behind no wonder only 1.2 million car owners are electric. Across America you'll find more than 270 million cars. Environmental group Sierra Club released an investigation into EVs late in 2019 and found nearly 75 percent of car dealerships in the U.S. aren't even selling EVs. Of those that do sell electric options, a majority (more than 66 percent) didn't display those car as prominently as gas-powered options.

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But interest in electric vehicles remains high, even if actually buying a plug-in car is another thing. Most consumers say they'll eventually go electric, but not now. Car shopping website CarGurus surveyed 1,702 car owners in 2019 and found that nearly half planned to buy an EV in the next 10 years. Only 26 percent said they'd do so in the next five years.

Forecasts from advisory firm ABI Research predict more than 100 million EVs in 2029, a huge increase from more than 5 million EVs globally now.

The Pew overview on public charging shows that range anxiety is real unless you're somewhere like California. It's one of the main states that prioritizes public infrastructure to drive long distances without fossil fuels.

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But it's not totally hopeless. More states are trying to catch up so that they're somewhat closer to California's dominance. Legislation like this one in Maine is popping up to fund stations in public spaces. Laggard state Alaska is even developing a plan to build more charging stations.

It's something of a chicken-or-the-egg situation. Since California has more charging options, more people are buying electric vehicles. It's the number one state in electric vehicle sales. That doesn't seem like a coincidence.

TopicsElectric Vehicles