What Does My Commute Cost?

Cost example updated November 6, 2026

The short answer: $8,592 a year for the example commute below, about $716 a month.

A 30 mile round trip, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, costs $6,192 a year of driving at 86 cents a mile, plus $2,400 a year of parking at $10 a day. That is $35.80 a day and $179 a week. The math for every step is below, and the formula for your own commute is further down the page.

This page is the bill. The rate underneath it lives elsewhere.

The 86 cents a mile comes from the cost per mile page, built from AAA's 2026 study. That page is the rate. This page is what the rate adds up to on a commute: your miles, your days, your parking, totaled per day, per week, per month, and per year.

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Go ahead, play with it. Change any number and watch the total move.

Work out your commute cost

Your numbers, not the example's. Enter your one-way miles, your days, your car's miles per gallon, the gas price, what parking and tolls cost you a day, how long the trip takes, and your hourly pay, and the page totals the driving bill per day, per week, per month, and per year, plus the hours and what that time is worth at your pay. The fuel and parking total is the cash out of pocket. The IRS line underneath it is the all-in per-mile figure, which also covers wear, insurance, upkeep, and the rest, so the two totals are different on purpose. Gas defaults to $4.153 a gallon (EIA, week ending November 2, 2026) and miles per gallon defaults to 27.2 (EPA model year 2024 fleet average). Enter 0 for the transit pass if you do not take transit, and 0 for remote days if you go in every work day.

One-way miles

Work days per week

Remote days per week

Weeks per year you commute

Miles per gallon typical

Miles per gallon: how far the car goes on one gallon of gas.

Gas price per gallon, $ typical

Parking plus tolls per day, $

One-way commute time, minutes

Hourly wage, $

Transit pass per month, $

Assumptions shown, not hidden: 48 weeks leaves 4 weeks for holidays, vacation, sick days, and remote days. A remote day is a work day you do not drive, so driving days are work days minus remote days. The monthly total is the yearly total divided by 12. Time cost is hours times your hourly wage, and it is shown apart from the driving bill, so you can read either one on its own.

Where the numbers come from: Miles per gallon: EPA, model year 2024 fleet average 27.2 · Gas price: EIA, week ending November 2, 2026, $4.153 a gallon.

The example commute, stated up front

Every input is stated here so you can check the math and swap in your own numbers:

Round trip: 30 miles (15 miles each way).
Days: 5 days a week.
Weeks: 48 weeks a year, leaving 4 weeks for holidays, vacation, sick days, and remote days.
Rate: 86 cents a mile, AAA's 2026 average for a typical new car.
Parking: $10 a day, a stated example assumption, not a surveyed rate. Parking varies a lot by city, so swap in your own daily parking cost and the rest of the math still works.

The math, step by step

Commute miles: 30 miles times 5 days times 48 weeks is 7,200 miles a year.

Driving cost: 7,200 miles times 86 cents is $6,192 a year.

Parking cost: $10 a day times 5 days times 48 weeks is $2,400 a year.

Total: $6,192 plus $2,400 is $8,592 a year.

Split by period, the same total reads:

Per day: $25.80 of driving plus $10 of parking, $35.80.
Per week: $129.00 of driving plus $50 of parking, $179.00.
Per month: $8,592 divided by 12, $716.00.
Per year: $8,592.

Check: $35.80 times 240 commute days (5 days times 48 weeks) is $8,592. The day, week, month, and year figures are the same total cut four ways.

Shorter or longer? The same math at 10 and 60 miles

Same 5 days a week, same 48 weeks a year, same $10 a day for parking. Only the miles change:

10 mile round trip: 2,400 miles a year, $2,064 of driving, plus $2,400 of parking, $4,464 a year, about $372 a month.
30 mile round trip: 7,200 miles a year, $6,192 of driving, plus $2,400 of parking, $8,592 a year, about $716 a month.
60 mile round trip: 14,400 miles a year, $12,384 of driving, plus $2,400 of parking, $14,784 a year, about $1,232 a month.

The driving part scales with miles. Parking stays at $2,400 a year in all three cases because it is charged per day, not per mile.

Work out your own commute cost

The formula is three multiplications and one addition:

Round trip miles, times days per week, times weeks per year, times 86 cents, plus your daily parking cost times your commute days.

Example for a hybrid schedule: 20 miles round trip, 4 days a week, 48 weeks a year is 3,840 miles, $3,302.40 of driving, plus $1,920 of parking at $10 a day (192 days), $5,222.40 a year, about $435.20 a month.

Change any input and the formula still holds: fewer days, fewer miles, or free parking all flow straight through.

What this leaves out

Tolls. Tolls are not in the 86 cent example, but the calculator above has a parking plus tolls box, so your tolls flow into the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly totals.
Transit fare. The calculator above compares a monthly transit pass with driving, when you enter a pass price. Enter 0 if you do not take transit.
Your car is not the average car. The 86 cents is AAA's average for a typical new car. An older, smaller, or more efficient car will differ, and the cost per mile page shows how the number moves.
Parking is an assumption. The $10 a day is stated so the example is checkable, not a claim about what parking costs in your city.

Worked example: the calculator, step by step

Different numbers from the 86 cent example above, so you can check this math on its own. The inputs:

One-way miles: 18 miles, so 36 miles round trip.
Days: 5 work days a week, with 1 remote day a week, so 4 driving days a week.
Weeks: 48 weeks a year, so 192 driving days a year.
Car: 28 miles per gallon.
Gas: $4.153 a gallon (EIA, week ending November 2, 2026).
Parking plus tolls: $6 a day.
Time: 35 minutes each way, so 70 minutes round trip.
Wage: $24 an hour, an example figure, enter your own.
Transit pass: $95 a month.

Miles: 36 miles times 4 days times 48 weeks is 6,912 miles a year.

Fuel: 6,912 miles divided by 28 miles per gallon is 246.86 gallons, times $4.153 is $1,025.20 a year.

Parking and tolls: $6 a day times 192 days is $1,152.00 a year.

Driving bill: $1,025.20 plus $1,152.00 is $2,177.20 a year. Per day that is $5.34 of fuel plus $6 of parking and tolls, $11.34. Per week, $11.34 times 4 days, $45.36. Per month, $2,177.20 divided by 12, $181.43.

Time: 70 minutes round trip is 1 hour 10 minutes, times 192 days is 224 hours a year, worth $5,376.00 a year at $24 an hour ($28.00 a day, $112.00 a week). Driving plus time is $7,553.20 a year.

IRS comparison: at the IRS standard mileage rate of 76 cents a mile for July to December 2026, the same 6,912 miles are $5,253.12 a year. That rate covers more than fuel and parking: wear, insurance, upkeep, and the rest. The calculator's $2,177.20 counts fuel plus parking and tolls only, which is why the two figures differ.

Transit comparison: a $95 a month pass is $1,140.00 a year, which is $1,037.20 less than the $2,177.20 driving bill. That comparison counts money only; the time on a bus or train is not in it. For one city worked the same way, see driving against transit in Denver.

Remote comparison: the 1 remote day a week already in this example saves $544.30 a year and 56 hours a year against going in all 5 days, and one more remote day a week would save another $544.30 a year and 56 hours a year.

The verdict in plain numbers: the driving bill is $2,177.20 a year, the time is 224 hours a year worth $5,376.00 at $24 an hour, and together they are $7,553.20 a year. A transit pass at $95 a month is $1,037.20 a year less than driving, before time.

Calculation transparency

Jurisdiction. United States. Gas prices, mileage rates, and transit fares are set by the market, the IRS, and your local transit agency, so your exact numbers depend on where you live and drive.

Rules and time period. The calculator counts fuel plus parking and tolls as the driving bill, and time apart from it, at your hourly wage. The worked example uses 18 miles one-way, 4 driving days a week, 48 weeks a year, 28 miles per gallon, $4.153 a gallon, $6 a day of parking and tolls, 35 minutes each way, and $24 an hour. The 86 cent example elsewhere on this page is a separate all-in figure from AAA, and the two are not mixed.

Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Fuel and parking are cash out of pocket; the IRS 76 cent line adds wear, insurance, upkeep, and the rest. No published national average for commuting spending exists. We have not found a primary source that measures commuting spending on its own, so this page does not quote a national average for it.

Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: IRS standard mileage rates for 2026 (72.5 cents a mile January to June, 76 cents July to December); EIA weekly gas prices (week ending November 2, 2026, $4.153 a gallon); EPA Automotive Trends Report (model year 2024 fleet average, 27.2 miles per gallon); AAA 2026 Your Driving Costs (new-vehicle average, 15,000 miles a year, $12,863 a year, about 86 cents a mile).

Primary sources: IRS, standard mileage rates; EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update; EPA, Automotive Trends Report highlights; AAA's 2026 study, via the Driveonomics cost per mile page. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.

How to use

Enter your one-way miles. The calculator doubles them for the round trip.
Enter your work days and remote days per week, and your weeks per year. Driving days are work days minus remote days, and 48 weeks leaves 4 weeks for holidays, vacation, sick days, and remote days.
Enter your miles per gallon and the gas price. The defaults are the EPA model year 2024 fleet average of 27.2 miles per gallon and $4.153 a gallon from the EIA, week ending November 2, 2026. Replace both with your own car and your local price.
Enter parking plus tolls per day, your one-way trip time, and your hourly wage. The wage turns your hours into a time cost, shown apart from the driving bill.
Read the totals, then the comparisons. The driving bill reads per day, per week, per month, and per year, with hours and time cost underneath, then the IRS 76 cent line, the transit pass comparison if you entered a pass, and what one more remote day a week saves.

Formula

Round trip miles are one-way miles times 2. Driving days per week are work days per week minus remote days per week. Commute days per year are driving days per week times weeks per year. Miles per year are round trip miles times commute days per year.

Gallons per year are miles per year divided by miles per gallon. Fuel cost per year is gallons per year times the gas price per gallon. Parking and tolls per year are the per-day parking plus tolls figure times commute days per year. The driving bill per year is fuel cost per year plus parking and tolls per year.

Daily fuel cost is round trip miles divided by miles per gallon, times the gas price. The daily driving bill is daily fuel cost plus parking and tolls per day. The weekly driving bill is the daily driving bill times driving days per week. The monthly driving bill is the yearly driving bill divided by 12.

Hours per year are round trip minutes divided by 60, times commute days per year. Time cost per year is hours per year times your hourly wage. Driving plus time is the driving bill per year plus time cost per year.

The IRS comparison is miles per year times 76 cents, the IRS standard mileage rate for July to December 2026. The transit comparison is the driving bill per year minus the monthly pass times 12. The saving from remote days is the daily driving bill times remote days per week times weeks per year, and one more remote day a week saves the daily driving bill times weeks per year.

Definitions

Round trip. The drive there and back, one-way miles times 2.

Driving day. A work day you drive to work. Work days minus remote days.

Remote day. A work day worked from home, with no drive and no parking or tolls that day.

Miles per gallon. How far the car goes on one gallon of gas. The EPA model year 2024 fleet average for new vehicles is 27.2 miles per gallon.

Driving bill. Fuel plus parking and tolls for the commute. The cash out of pocket, before time.

Time cost. Commute hours times your hourly wage. Shown apart from the driving bill, so you can read either one on its own.

IRS standard mileage rate. The per-mile figure the IRS publishes for business use of a personal car. For 2026 it is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June and 76 cents a mile for July to December. It covers wear, insurance, upkeep, and the rest on top of fuel.

Cost per mile, AAA. AAA's 2026 average for a typical new car, about 86 cents a mile, or $12,863 a year at 15,000 miles a year. The 86 cent example elsewhere on this page uses it. The cost per mile page shows how the number moves by car.

Transit pass. A monthly bus or train pass. Entered as dollars per month, compared with the driving bill as money only.

Questions people actually ask

What does a typical driving commute cost per year?

The example on this page, 30 miles round trip, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, costs $8,592 a year, about $716 a month, at 86 cents a mile plus $10 a day for parking. Driving alone is $6,192 a year and parking is $2,400 a year. Your own total moves with your miles, your days, and your parking.

How do I work out my own commute cost?

Multiply your round trip miles by the days you commute each week, then by the weeks you commute each year, then by 86 cents a mile, then add parking: your daily parking cost times your commute days. Example: 20 miles round trip, 4 days a week, 48 weeks a year is 3,840 miles, $3,302.40 of driving, plus $1,920 of parking at $10 a day, $5,222.40 a year in total.

What does the 86 cents a mile cover?

It is the AAA 2026 average for a typical new car: $12,863 a year at 15,000 miles a year, covering the value the car loses, fuel, insurance, upkeep, registration and taxes, and loan interest. It is an average, so your own car will differ; the cost per mile page shows how the number moves by car.

How many weeks a year should I count?

The example counts 48 weeks, leaving 4 weeks for holidays, vacation, sick days, and remote days. If you commute all 52 weeks, the same 30 mile round trip is 7,800 miles, $6,708 of driving, plus $2,600 of parking at $10 a day, $9,308 a year in total.

What if my commute is shorter or longer?

At the same 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, and $10 a day for parking, a 10 mile round trip costs $4,464 a year, about $372 a month, and a 60 mile round trip costs $14,784 a year, about $1,232 a month. The driving part scales with miles; parking stays at $2,400 a year in both cases because it is charged per day, not per mile.

Run your own numbers

Change the price, the miles, and the insurance to match your car, the calculator does the same five-year math as the examples above. For the rate behind this page, see what it costs per mile to drive.

Figures: AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study (new-vehicle average, 15,000 miles a year, $12,863 a year, about 86 cents a mile), via the Driveonomics cost per mile page. Parking at $10 a day is a stated example assumption, not a surveyed rate. Tolls and transit fares are not included in the example totals. This page gives general education, not financial advice.

Run your own numbers →