Dive Brief:
- The lowest-income households in the U.S. spent more of their pre-tax income on all forms of transportation in 2023 than any other income group, according to data released Dec. 6 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
- Although households with incomes of $28,261 or less spent the least on transportation overall, those expenses consumed nearly 32% of their pre-tax income. Households with incomes greater than $148,682 spent more in total, but only 9.6% of their income.
- Across all income groups, transportation is the second-largest average household cost, behind housing and above food.
Dive Insight:
U.S. households spent an average of $13,174 on transportation in 2023, with the largest spending on motor vehicle purchases and related expenses such as insurance, fuel and maintenance. Vehicle ownership is lowest among the lowest-income households, with 30% having no vehicles, but vehicle expenses were the main cause of increased transportation costs among three of the five income groups, the DOT said in a bulletin.
Average transportation costs for households in 10 U.S. cities jumped more than 41% over a 10-year period leading up to 2022-2023, according to a separate report from the New York State Comptroller in October. Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco all saw transportation expenditures rise over 50%, with Miami seeing transportation costs more than double. The average transaction price of a new vehicle in October 2024 was 27% higher than five years ago, according to Kelley Blue Book.
The BTS report showed that transportation spending per household was greatest among the highest income group. This group typically has more household members and more vehicles per person, DOT says. Compared with others, the highest-income group spends a greater proportion of total transportation expenses on public transportation for trips, which DOT defines as overnight trips or day trips at least 75 miles away from home. Such expenses include airline, intercity bus and train fares.
Rural households spent an average of $14,295 on transportation in 2023, exceeding the expenditures of urban households by almost $1,400.
