- At the national average commute of 16 miles each way, the typical American spends $1,021 per year on commute fuel alone at the fleet average of 24.3 MPG.
- A pickup truck commuter pays $357 more per year in commute fuel than a sedan commuter at the same distance (+39%).
- A 30 mile each way commuter in an SUV spends $1,970 per year on fuel, nearly double the national average commute cost.
- Over 76% of American workers drive alone to work, making personal vehicle fuel cost the dominant commuting expense for most households.
01 Introduction
More than three out of four American workers drive to work, yet few calculate what that daily trip actually costs in fuel. At the national average commute of 16 miles each way and 250 working days per year, the round trip adds up to 8,000 miles annually. Your cost also depends on where you live and what you drive. That is a significant share of the 11,327 miles the average vehicle covers per year.
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019, Table B08301 (Means of Transportation to Work); FHWA Highway Statistics 2022, Table VM-1This article calculates the true fuel cost of commuting by car using Census commuting data, EPA vehicle fuel economy ratings, and EIA gasoline prices. Every figure comes exclusively from U.S. government sources.
Census ACS (commuting patterns), EPA FuelEconomy.gov (vehicle MPG), EIA (gasoline prices)02 How Americans Commute
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 76.3% of workers drive alone to work. Another 9.0% carpool, bringing the total share of workers who commute by personal vehicle to over 85%. Public transit accounts for just 5.0% of commuters nationally, though the share is much higher in a few dense metro areas.
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019, Table B08301: Means of Transportation to Work. Universe: workers 16 years and over (157.5 million)| Mode of Transportation | Workers (millions) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Drove Alone | 120.1 | 76.3% |
| Carpooled | 14.2 | 9.0% |
| Public Transit | 7.9 | 5.0% |
| Worked from Home | 9.0 | 5.7% |
| Walked | 4.1 | 2.6% |
| Other Means | 2.2 | 1.4% |
The mean one way commute time is 27.6 minutes nationally. Combined with an average one way distance of approximately 16 miles (per the National Household Travel Survey), commuters who drive alone accumulate roughly 8,000 miles per year on commuting alone.
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019, Table B08303 (Travel Time to Work); U.S. DOT, National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) 2017, average commute trip distance03 The Commute Fuel Cost Formula
The annual fuel cost of commuting depends on three variables: how far you drive, how efficient your vehicle is, and the price of gasoline. The formula is straightforward:
Using national averages: 16 miles each way, 250 working days, the 2026 model year fleet average of 24.3 MPG, and the 2025 annual average regular gasoline price of $3.10 per gallon:
EPA FuelEconomy.gov, 2026 model year fleet average combined MPG; EIA, 2025 annual average regular gasoline price ($3.097, rounded to $3.10)That works out to roughly $85 per month or $4.08 per working day in fuel alone. Over a 30 year career, that amounts to more than $30,000 in commute fuel costs at today's prices.
Calculation: 8,000 annual commute miles / 24.3 MPG = 329 gallons × $3.10/gal = $1,021Estimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator04 Cost by Commute Distance and Vehicle
Commute fuel cost varies dramatically based on two factors: how far you drive and what you drive. A sedan commuter with a 10 mile each way commute spends $572 per year on fuel. The same distance in a pickup truck costs $795, a 39% increase. At 30 miles each way, the truck commuter spends $2,385 annually, enough to cover several months of car payments.
EPA FuelEconomy.gov, 2026 model year average combined MPG: Sedan 27.1, SUV 23.6, Pickup Truck 19.5; EIA 2025 regular gasoline $3.10/gal| One Way Distance | Sedan (27.1 MPG) | SUV (23.6 MPG) | Truck (19.5 MPG) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 miles | $286 | $328 | $397 |
| 10 miles | $572 | $657 | $795 |
| 16 miles (avg) | $915 | $1,051 | $1,272 |
| 20 miles | $1,144 | $1,314 | $1,590 |
| 30 miles | $1,716 | $1,970 | $2,385 |
| 40 miles | $2,289 | $2,627 | $3,179 |
| 50 miles | $2,861 | $3,284 | $3,974 |
The relationship between commute distance and fuel cost is linear, but the gap between vehicle types widens as distance increases. At 5 miles each way, the sedan to truck difference is only $111 per year. At 50 miles each way, that gap grows to $1,113 per year.
Calculation: $3,974 (truck at 50 mi) minus $2,861 (sedan at 50 mi) = $1,11305 State Commuting Patterns
Average commute times vary widely by state. Workers in New York face a mean one way commute of 33.4 minutes, the longest in the nation. Maryland is a close second at 33.1 minutes, driven largely by the Washington D.C. metro area. At the other end, South Dakota workers average just 17.2 minutes each way.
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019, Table B08303: Travel Time to Work, state level estimatesLonger commute times generally correlate with higher commute fuel costs, though the relationship is not perfectly linear because traffic congestion affects time more than distance. States with sprawling metro areas and high drive alone rates tend to have both the longest commutes and the highest commute fuel spending.
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019: drive alone rates range from 54.4% (New York) to 85.3% (Alabama)Estimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator06 Data Sources
Every data point in this article comes from a U.S. government source. No proprietary, estimated, or third party data was used.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2019, Table B08301: Means of Transportation to Work. Mode share for 157.5 million workers age 16 and over.
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2019, Table B08303: Travel Time to Work. Mean commute times by state and national average of 27.6 minutes.
- U.S. Department of Transportation, National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) 2017. Average one way commute trip distance of approximately 16 miles.
- EPA FuelEconomy.gov Vehicle Dataset. Combined MPG averages by vehicle class for model years 2022 through 2026: Sedan 27.1, SUV 23.6, Pickup Truck 19.5, Fleet Average 24.3.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 2025 annual average regular gasoline price: $3.097 per gallon (rounded to $3.10).
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2009 to 2013, Table 1: Residence County to Workplace County Commuting Flows. 139.8 million workers across 137,492 origin destination pairs.