There are both state and federal incentives for purchasing an electric vehicle.

However, some states are more equipped to accommodate EV owners than others. That being said, the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs recently compiled a list of the most electric car-friendly cities in the United States, with Portland taking the top spot. Surprised?

Rounding out the top five spots is Washington, D.C., New York City, Baltimore and Denver. The bottom half of the top 10 spots on the list went to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Austin and San Francisco. While California counts two cities within the top 10, we were surprised that neither cracked the top five spots.

"Some cities are doing more to encourage PEV ownership than others by installing new public charging infrastructure and offering various sorts of incentives," researcher Saba Siddiki told Charged, an electric vehicles magazine. "PEV owners enjoy free parking in downtown Nashville and are exempt from all parking fees in Honolulu. Portland has streamlined the often complicated permitting process for home-based chargers. In Austin, PEV drivers can subscribe to unlimited use of 250 public charging stations located around the city for less than $5 per month."

Now, that's a deal.

Still, gas prices sliding might have an effect on people purchasing EVs, helping to spread the adoption of the technology.

"With gas prices dropping, consumers have less of a financial incentive to buy a PEV," researcher Kyle Clark-Sutton also told Charged. "It is crucial for cities to create receptive policy environments for purchasing and operating an electric car. If they don't, we won't see the technology's promise as a means of climate change mitigation fully realized."

Portland, Washington, D.C., New York City, Baltimore, Denver and Los Angeles all offer incentives for buying electric vehicles and charging equipment, with four of the six also offering customers time-of-use electricity rates. No surprise here, but the top cities on the list also have ample charging stations for owners.

Other cities on the 36-city list include Boston, Houston, Indianapolis, Orlando, San Diego, Seattle, San Jose, Hartford, Phoenix and Fort Worth.

With gas prices as low as they are right now, is going electric still on your mind?

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