The Annual Cost of Transportation in America’s 50 Biggest Cities

Jordan Rosenfeld

9 June 2024 at 7:00 pm·7-min read

Americans spend a lot of time getting places — especially by car, be it to and from work, taking kids to school or just traveling. Transportation costs add up quickly, especially over the past few years, where inflation has also hit the gas pump.

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While gas prices have started to come down in the last couple of months, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), much of the West Coast is still higher than the rest of the country. California has nine cities on this list, many of them with steeper costs than the rest of the country, but seven Texas cities also made an appearance.

Transportation costs do vary, however, across the country. To find out what people are paying to get where they need to go in America’s 50 biggest cities, GOBankingRates analyzed data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Read on to find out what people are paying to commute in these big metros.

El Paso, Texas

Population: 677,181
Overall cost of living average: $59,760
Transportation average cost: $5,821

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Louisville, Kentucky

Population: 629,176
Overall cost of living average: $65,524
Transportation average cost: $6,279

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Kansas City, Missouri

Population: 505,958
Overall cost of living average: $64,503
Transportation average cost: $6,412

Oklahoma City

Population: 681,088
Overall cost of living average: $62,387
Transportation average cost: $6,843

Tucson, Arizona

Population: 541,033
Overall cost of living average: $70,778
Transportation average cost: $6,857

Nashville, Tennessee

Population: 684,103
Overall cost of living average: $76,396
Transportation average cost: $6,947

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Memphis, Tennessee

Population: 630,027
Overall cost of living average: $62,606
Transportation average cost: $6,968

Miami

Population: 443,665
Overall cost of living average: $86,758
Transportation average cost: $6,968

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Population: 411,938
Overall cost of living average: $62,241
Transportation average cost: $7,024

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Jacksonville, Florida

Population: 950,203
Overall cost of living average: $69,829
Transportation average cost: $7,051

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Indianapolis

Population: 882,006
Overall cost of living average: $62,533
Transportation average cost: $7,170

Atlanta

Population: 494,838
Overall cost of living average: $82,672
Transportation average cost: $7,190

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Population: 562,551
Overall cost of living average: $67,130
Transportation average cost: $7,225

San Antonio

Population: 1,445,662
Overall cost of living average: $66,619
Transportation average cost: $7,246

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Mesa, Arizona

Population: 503,390
Overall cost of living average: $82,453
Transportation average cost: $7,330

Phoenix

Population: 1,609,456
Overall cost of living average: $82,453
Transportation average cost: $7,350

Houston

Population: 2,296,253
Overall cost of living average: $70,705
Transportation average cost: $7,364

franckreporter / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Austin, Texas

Population: 958,202
Overall cost of living average: $94,200
Transportation average cost: $7,364

Columbus, Ohio

Population: 902,449
Overall cost of living average: $66,692
Transportation average cost: $7,476

Baltimore

Population: 584,548
Overall cost of living average: $67,567
Transportation average cost: $7,489

Dallas

Population: 1,300,642
Overall cost of living average: $73,113
Transportation average cost: $7,496

Arlington, Texas

Population: 393,469
Overall cost of living average: $74,062
Transportation average cost: $7,545

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Forth Worth, Texas

Population: 924,663
Overall cost of living average: $74,062
Transportation average cost: $7,594

emiliomarin66 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Philadelphia

Population: 1,593,208
Overall cost of living average: $76,105
Transportation average cost: $7,615

Las Vegas

Population: 644,835
Overall cost of living average: $80,702
Transportation average cost: $7,629

Raleigh, North Carolina

Population: 465,517
Overall cost of living average: $77,199
Transportation average cost: $7,629

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Fresno, California

Population: 541,528
Overall cost of living average: $75,667
Transportation average cost: $7,663

Charlotte, North Carolina

Population: 875,045
Overall cost of living average: $74,791
Transportation average cost: $7,670

Bakersfield, California

Population: 404,321
Overall cost of living average: $72,821
Transportation average cost: $7,733

Detroit

Population: 636,787
Overall cost of living average: $66,984
Transportation average cost: $7,928

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Wichita, Kansas

Population: 395,951
Overall cost of living average: $60,417
Transportation average cost: $8,247

Jon Mattrisch / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Milwaukee

Population: 573,299
Overall cost of living average: $64,211
Transportation average cost: $8,338

Sacramento, California

Population: 523,600
Overall cost of living average: $92,814
Transportation average cost: $8,950

Omaha, Nebraska

Population: 489,201
Overall cost of living average: $66,254
Transportation average cost: $9,193

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Peeter Viisimaa / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Population: 479,612
Overall cost of living average: $80,483
Transportation average cost: $9,221

Long Beach, California

Population: 462,293
Overall cost of living average: $117,988
Transportation average cost: $9,277

Los Angeles

Population: 3,881,041
Overall cost of living average: $117,988
Transportation average cost: $9,298

New York City

Population: 8,622,467
Overall cost of living average: $125,868
Transportation average cost: $9,485

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Chicago

Population: 2,721,914
Overall cost of living average: $77,126
Transportation average cost: $9,722

Portland, Oregon

Population: 646,101
Overall cost of living average: $93,179
Transportation average cost: $9,743

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Population: 457,900
Overall cost of living average: $76,469
Transportation average cost: $9,791

Minneapolis

Population: 426,877
Overall cost of living average: $78,221
Transportation average cost: $10,055

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Seattle

Population: 734,603
Overall cost of living average: $115,361
Transportation average cost: $10,480

Denver

Population: 710,800
Overall cost of living average: $93,106
Transportation average cost: $10,584

San Diego

Population: 1,383,987
Overall cost of living average: $113,026
Transportation average cost: $10,702

San Jose, California

Population: 1,001,176
Overall cost of living average: $168,554
Transportation average cost: $10,834

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Boston

Population: 665,945
Overall cost of living average: $110,034
Transportation average cost: $10,980

Oakland, California

Population: 437,825
Overall cost of living average: $142,650
Transportation average cost: $11,022

San Francisco

Population: 851,036
Overall cost of living average: $179,134
Transportation average cost: $11,272

Washington, DC

Population: 670,587
Overall cost of living average: $110,837
Transportation average cost: $12,232

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the largest 50 cities by population as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, to find the average annual cost of transportation. First GOBankingRates found the cost of living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces and using the national average transportation expenditure costs as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The cities were sorted to show the least to most average annual transportation cost. All data was collected on and is up to date as of June 4, 2024.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Annual Cost of Transportation in America’s 50 Biggest Cities

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