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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 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.