Car parking statistics show a system that is large, unevenly used and expensive to provide. The figures below distinguish international estimates from local surveys, company metrics and measured parking inventories, with dates and definitions kept explicit.
Key Car Parking Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- Cars are parked for roughly 95% of the time in the OECD’s 2017 literature synthesis covering international research.
- Vehicles are typically parked about 23 hours per day in a 2022 general vehicle-use estimate.
- Annualized parking-space costs range from about $600 to more than $5,000 per space in 2022 North American estimates, depending on facility type.
- Average parking cost was estimated at about $1,000 per space annually in the United States in 2022.
- US parking costs were estimated at more than $1 trillion during 2022.
- Kingston’s highest surveyed occupancy was 75% on Friday at 12:45 during a 15-minute interval in November 2021.
- Kingston’s highest daily average occupancy was 29% on Saturday during the November 2021 survey week.
- Downtown Oakland’s Thursday peak occupancy was 79% between noon and 1 p.m. during its study survey period.
- Oakland Thursday on-street occupancy reached 84% between noon and 1 p.m. during the study survey period.
- Oakland Thursday off-street occupancy reached 71% during the lunch hour, then fell to 11% in the late afternoon and early evening.
- Somerville allocated 52% of curb space to vehicle parking or loading in its citywide study.
- Somerville resident-permit spaces averaged 67% overnight utilization during early-weekday counts.
- Somerville had 2.5 resident permits per available resident-permit space in the citywide study.
- Carpinteria had approximately 883 publicly available downtown spaces in August 2019, including 627 on-street and 256 off-street spaces.
- The SFpark dataset covered 5,314 spaces on 579 road segments from June 13 to July 24, 2013.
- SFpark collected about 7 million parking-availability observations in its San Francisco pilot area during that 2013 period.
- Kansas City’s weekday peak used 3,049 spaces, or 53.4% of public capacity in a January 2012 assessment.
- BEEP reported $224.96 in revenue per available stall per month for the three months ended June 30, 2026.
Contents
- Car parking scale and time parked
- City-center parking occupancy data
- On-street and off-street parking supply
- Residential permits, curb use and vehicle ownership
- Parking costs, revenue and space economics
- Parking technology, enforcement and demand measurement
Car Parking Scale and Time Parked
Parking capacity is used intermittently, but the vehicle remains part of the parking system for much of its life. The OECD’s 2017 report synthesis found that the average car is parked roughly 95% of the time across the international literature reviewed, while a separate 2022 parking-cost synthesis estimated about 23 parked hours per day for a typical vehicle.
These are estimates, not synchronized observations from one city or country. The OECD figure is literature-based, and the 23-hour measure is a report-level general vehicle-use estimate rather than a contemporaneous travel diary.
| Measure | Figure | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Share of time a car is parked | 95% | 2017 OECD literature synthesis; international literature |
| Typical parked time | 23 hours per day | 2022 general vehicle-use estimate |
| Basic surface parking cost | About $600 per space per year | 2022 North American estimate |
| High-amenity structured parking cost | More than $5,000 per space per year | 2022 North American estimate |
Sources: The Environmental and Economic Effects of Parking Policies and Comprehensive Parking Supply, Cost and Pricing Analysis.
The 2022 analysis estimated average US parking cost at about $1,000 per space annually and about $5,000 per vehicle-year. It also estimated total US parking costs at more than $1 trillion during 2022; these are modelled or report estimates, not a government expenditure series.
Car Parking Occupancy Statistics from City-Center Surveys
Local occupancy studies demonstrate why a single parking percentage can mislead. Kingston’s November 22–28, 2021 town-center survey recorded a Friday all-car-park peak of 75% at 12:45, representing 4,463 occupied spaces and 1,507 unoccupied spaces during that 15-minute interval.
| Kingston daily summary | Maximum occupancy | Daily average occupancy |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 53% | 18% |
| Tuesday | 53% | 19% |
| Wednesday | 54% | 20% |
| Thursday | 60% | 24% |
| Saturday | 74% | 29% |
The same survey reported maximum occupancy of 72–74% on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while Saturday had the highest daily average at 29%. These are one-week local survey results, not national averages; daily averages combine the day’s surveyed periods and all car parks.
Source: Kingston Town Centre Parking Study.
On-Street and Off-Street Parking Supply Data
Downtown Oakland’s study period produced a Thursday overall peak occupancy of 79% between noon and 1 p.m., compared with 49% at noon on Saturday. The split between curbside and facility parking was more pronounced: Thursday on-street occupancy peaked at 84%, while off-street occupancy reached 71% during the lunch hour.
- Oakland’s Thursday off-street occupancy fell to 11% in the late afternoon and early evening, an observed low point in the study time series.
- Saturday on-street occupancy reached 68% at noon, while Saturday off-street occupancy peaked at 22% from 3 to 4 p.m.
- Temporarily closed Oakland garages removed 1,837 off-street spaces from Saturday operations; including those facilities in comparable supply calculations affected the reported availability context.
- Excluding the closed garages, Saturday off-street peak occupancy was 41% from 3 to 4 p.m.
The Oakland results are study-area observations with different time windows, and they measure observed utilization rather than demand that could not be accommodated.
Source: Downtown Oakland Parking Study: Parking Management Report – Final.
A separate downtown inventory in Carpinteria, California, counted approximately 883 publicly available spaces in August 2019: 627 on-street and 256 off-street. The inventory covers publicly available downtown supply only, not every parking space in the wider area.
Source: Parking Study – Existing Conditions.
Residential Parking Permits, Curb Use and Vehicle Ownership
Somerville, Massachusetts, measured parking as part of a broader curb-use system. Its citywide study classified 52% of curb space for vehicle parking or loading, while driveway curb cuts used another 19% of potential curb space; together, those categories accounted for 71% of the study’s potential curb-space denominator.
The inventory contained 25,100 vehicle-accessible curb spaces. Resident parking primarily regulated 73% of those spaces, but regulation and occupancy were different measures: resident-permit spaces averaged 67% utilization during overnight-peak counts and 57% during daytime counts.
- Somerville registered 2.5 resident permits per available resident-permit space; permits do not imply simultaneous use or guaranteed availability.
- The city reported that 76% of households owned vehicles, while 36.7% of residents drove alone to work.
- The ownership and commute figures describe different populations and concepts, so vehicle ownership should not be treated as a commute-mode measure.
The utilization counts were early-weekday residential observations, and the study notes substantial neighborhood variation.
Source: Citywide Parking & Curb Use Study.
Car Parking Costs, Revenue and Space Economics
Parking economics vary by land, construction, operating model and measurement denominator. The 2022 cost synthesis estimated about $600 annually for basic surface parking, more than $5,000 for high-amenity structured parking and about $1,000 as an average annual US cost per space.
The same report estimated about $5,000 in parking cost per US vehicle-year, roughly five times its $1,000 average annual cost per space. That ratio compares two report estimates with different denominators and should not be read as a market price.
BEEP’s company reporting supplies a more recent operating metric, but it is not an industry-wide price. Revenue per available stall was $224.96 per month for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $212.14 for the same quarter in 2025, a reported difference of $12.82 per available stall per month.
| BEEP revenue per available stall | Period | Reported measure |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | Three months ended June 30, 2026 | $224.96 per month |
| Q2 2025 | Three months ended June 30, 2025 | $212.14 per month |
| Year-over-year difference | Q2 2026 versus Q2 2025 | $12.82 per month |
BEEP defines RevPAS for its owned and managed locations and excludes sales tax, credit-card fees, billboard or commercial rent and leased locations.
Source: BEEP, Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended June 30, 2026.
Parking Technology, Enforcement and Demand Measurement
Sensor and facility studies measure availability differently, which matters when interpreting parking technology trends. The peer-reviewed SFpark dataset covered 5,314 spaces on 579 road segments from June 13 to July 24, 2013, with about 7 million availability observations queried at approximately five-minute intervals.
SFpark availability was collected at road-segment level rather than individual-stall level. The study also described approximately 500 downtown San Francisco road segments with stationary sensors in the asphalt; this approximate downtown subset differs from the 579-segment API inventory, and the peer-reviewed dataset applied data-cleaning exclusions.
Kansas City’s January 2012 operational assessment illustrates how facility-level enforcement and utilization can diverge. The weekday peak assessment covered 6,270 total public-facility spaces, including 5,710 public-capacity spaces, and recorded 3,049 weekday peak users, or 53.4% of public capacity.
| Kansas City facility or period | Peak users | Occupancy |
|---|---|---|
| City-owned structures, weekday peak | 3,049 | 53.4% of public capacity |
| 11th & Oak, weekday peak | 1,195 | 86% |
| Wyandotte, weekday peak | 108 | 28% |
| City-owned structures, weekend-evening peak | 1,680 | 29.4% of public capacity |
| Auditorium Plaza, weekend-evening peak | 675 | 69% |
| 11th & Oak, weekend-evening peak | 95 | 7% |
The weekend-evening figures describe normal-business conditions, and event conditions can differ. Facility-level peaks are not interchangeable with citywide occupancy averages.
Source: Operational Parking Assessment: City of Kansas City, MO.