The 10 best cities most expensive to travel by car

Return to the office rejecting workers at the office, some see economic impacts.
In some cities, workers spend up to 7% of their income on the move by car.
Several cities in California and Florida are in the 10 best cities most expensive to drive.

The return to the office becoming more common in American companies, it seems that the journeys of the kitchen in the sofa are behind us.

While people return to the office, they must again take into account travel costs.

Mercury Insurance published a report in March which ranked 147 American cities by the amount of residents paid, on average, to go to and from work by car. His study examined the factors, including average driving distances, gas prices, tolls and city repair costs using the most recently available data. Report sources included data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analytics, the transit-research research company, the CARMD vehicle health index index and the Tollguru toll calculator tool.

While some of the best cities, such as New York and San Francisco, have large public transport systems that allow many residents to move with public transport, most of the places in the list are mainly car cities.

See how the 10 best cities rank.

10. Louisville, Kentucky

Public transport is not a popular journey option in the city of Kentucky.

Baiterek Media / Shutterstock

Sitting on the Ohio river, Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky with more than 600,000 inhabitants.

The city is in Jefferson County where, in 2023, almost 72% of workers went to work alone, according to data from the US census survey.

Although the City has a bus system, public transport is not a particularly popular option for shuttlers, with only 1.8% of the county population that opposes it, according to ACS data. The percentage of those who work at work are higher, 2%.

In Louisville, trips cost an average of $ 3,615 per year, which represents 5.5% of the city’s average income, according to the Mercury Insurance report.

9. Wichita, Kansas

Skyline Wichita — Public transport is not commonly used in Wichita – most commuters drive.

Jacob Boomsma / Shutterstock

In Wichita, journey times on average 19.9 minutes in 2023. Travel costs were on average $ 3,670, or 6.08% of the city’s average income, Mercury Insurance said.

According to census data, almost 90% of the county residents go by car to work, with around 80.4% of residents leading to work alone.

8. Flagstaff, Arizona

The mountainous city of Flagstaff, Arizona, and its less than 100,000 residents also experience some of the highest costs in the country, according to the report.

Although 18.4 minutes, the average journey time is shorter than in other American cities, the average cost of travel in Flagstaff is $ 3,688 per year, or 5.95% of average income, per Mercury insurance.

However, its county also has a relatively high rate of home labor employees, with an average of 11.6% in 2023, according to census data. That year, 64.2% of the population led work alone.

7. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs in the city center — Most residents of Colorado Springs lead alone to work.

Jacob Boomsma / Shutterstock

Another mountain city, Colorado Springs, is also classified among the most expensive journeys in the country – the annual average is $ 3,909. Almost 70% of the county residents, in the county of El Paso, go alone to work, according to the census data.

Costs are equal to 5.94% of the average income of city residents, according to the insurance company report.

6. Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Fl Highway — The city dependent on the car has a high rate of distant workers.

Noah Densmore / Shutterstock

A city dependent on famous cars, Orlando ranks at the list level, which would have an average of $ 3,916 annually in travel costs. The travel costs compared to income are the highest on the list, residents spending 6.78% of their income on average.

In Orange County, which includes Orlando, 67.9% of residents led alone to work in 2023, according to census data. It has a high rate of home labor employees, with 17.5% of residents working remotely.

5. Tampa, Florida

Tampa, fl, skyline — The city has a large part of the workers remotely.

Noah Densmore / Shutterstock

Tampa residents spend an average of $ 3,957 by driving towards and from work. This is another city dependent on the car, with 60% of residents leading to move, according to a survey in 2021 conducted by the city of Tampa.

Country data for the county of Hillsborough estimated that 65.6% of residents lead alone to go to work. The county, however, also has a high share of distant employees, with 20.1% of residents working at home.

4. San Francisco

Rue San Francisco — The city’s average annual route cost is the lowest compared to average income.

Northsky Films / Shutterstock

The tech hub has some of the highest costs in the shuttle, contributing to its costly cost of living. The average cost of driving and work in California in California totals $ 4,465 per year, although Mercury Insurance said that the figure represents 3.42% of the average resident income, which is lower than that of other cities.

Although the cost of driving at work is high, travel by car is not predominant either in other cities on the list, with 29.7% of residents of the County of San Francisco leading to work in 2023, according to census data.

Almost a quarter of county workers work at home, while 22% depend on public transport.

3. Houston

Houston, Texas, Skyline — The metropolis has the highest rate of solo drivers among the three main most expensive journeys.

Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Texas Metropolis, known for its vast highways, has the third highest cost of driving and work, with the annual average in Houston at $ 4,864, or 6.71% of average income, according to the report.

Just over 70% of Harris county residents, who include Houston, go to work alone, according to census data. 11.9% worked at home.

2. San Diego

Highway San Diego — The city of California is the most expensive journey for its residents of the majority of solo drivers.

Leong / Shutterstock kit

Cost of residents 6.42% of their average income, driving and coming from work in San Diego, on average $ 5,081, the highest of the cities dependent on the car on this list.

According to data from the 2023 census, two thirds of residents of the County of San Diego went to work alone, while 16% worked at home.

The average journey time in the city is 25.7 minutes, complicating higher than some other places on this list.

1. New York

New York Streets — New York has the highest cost for driving at work, but few residents opt.

Alexandre F Fagunds / Shutterstock

The list is at the top of the list, which has implemented in recent months, which has implemented policies such as congestion prices in order to discourage solo drivers from entering the busiest parts of the city.

For those who lead to working in the city, costs on average $ 5,907 per year, representing 6.46% of average income.

However, data from the 2023 census for the five districts indicate that more than half of residents move in public transport, which makes the travel cost only applicable to 24% which decide to drive alone.

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