Commute Cost Calculator ($)
What does your commute cost in dollars?
Over the next 10 years, your commute will cost about
Estimated 0 mpg and 0¢ a mile in maintenance and repairs.
| Gas | Upkeep | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This year | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Next 5 years | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| All 10 years | $0 | $0 | $0 |
That money could instead be…
What if?
Ways to cut what your commute costs
Gas and repairs scale with every mile, so fewer or cheaper miles pay off for as long as you keep the commute.
Trade one drive a week
A remote day, transit, or a bike ride cuts about a fifth of your commute miles.
Share the ride
Alternating drivers with a coworker roughly halves your gas and wear.
Keep up with maintenance
Oil changes, tire pressure, and filters on schedule help avoid bigger repair bills and wasted fuel.
Drive smoother
Gentle acceleration and steady speeds use noticeably less gas than stop-and-go driving.
Shop for gas
Prices can vary a lot between nearby stations. Fill up where it's cheapest on your route.
Weigh your next car
Fuel economy and repair costs differ a lot by model. A commuter car can pay for itself.
How this calculator works
Your results are estimates based on a few assumptions:
- Fuel economy is the EPA's real-world average for gas-powered vehicles of your type and model year (hybrids are included, fully electric and plug-in hybrids are not). If you know your car's actual mpg, enter it under "Assumptions."
- Gas starts at today's U.S. average and rises 2% a year. That matches the Federal Reserve's long-run inflation goal and is a deliberately low estimate: U.S. gas prices have risen about 3% a year on average since 1995.
- Maintenance and repairs start from CarEdge's 10-year maintenance and repair cost for your brand, spread across the years with CarEdge's cost-by-year pattern: cheaper while a car is new, rising as it ages (we hold it level after year 10). That yearly cost is divided by the average miles a U.S. vehicle drives (11,106) to get a cost per mile, then applied to your commute miles. A small adjustment for vehicle type comes from AAA, and tires add about 1¢ a mile. Repair costs rise by the same yearly percentage as gas.
- Brand figures average all of a brand's models. Brands that sell heavy-duty trucks (Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Ram) can read a bit high for their cars and SUVs.
- You keep the same car and commute for every year you enter, with 242 commuting days a year (5 days a week, minus 18 days off). Insurance, depreciation, parking, and tolls aren't included, so your true cost is higher.
- The "invested" comparison assumes each year's commute cost is invested instead at the return you set (7% by default). It's an illustration, not a forecast.
Sources
- Gas price ($4.30/gal, Oct 24, 2026): AAA national average. Check your state's average there too.
- Fuel economy by vehicle type and model year: EPA Automotive Trends Report 2025 (Table 3.2; recent years adjusted to exclude electric and plug-in vehicles).
- Maintenance and repair cost by brand and age: CarEdge 10-year maintenance rankings and its year-by-year cost data for Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet.
- Average miles per vehicle (11,106 a year): FHWA Highway Statistics 2023, Table VM-1.
- Vehicle-type adjustment: AAA Your Driving Costs 2025 (minivans use AAA's medium-SUV figure). Tires (1¢ a mile): AAA Your Driving Costs 2016, the last year AAA reported tires separately.
- Inflation goal (2%): Federal Reserve. Historical gas price (1995: $1.15/gal): U.S. Department of Energy.
- Median full-time pay ($1,251/week, Q2 2026): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average full-coverage insurance ($1,694/year): AAA Your Driving Costs 2025.
- Work year (10 vacation days, 8 paid holidays): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.