Add Driving to Home Cost

The real cost of housing is significantly higher than we think when transportation is factored into the equation, according to a joint study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Center for Transit Oriented Development.

Based on $2.941 per gallon AAA estimates that we pay $9,369 to drive medium sedan 15,000 miles a year. This is  excluding loan payments. In coming up with the estimates AAA figured in average fuel, routine maintenance, tires, insurance, license and registration, loan finance charges and depreciation costs. Fuel prices are based on late-2007 national averages.

AAA has been conducting this annual analysis since 1950. That year, driving a car 10,000 miles annually cost 9 cents a mile, and gasoline sold for 27 cents per gallon. Composite national average cost per-mile for 2008: 54.1 cents

See chart below for a more detailed breakdown by miles driven and vehicle type. 

How Much Does It Cost to Drive?
2007 Vehicle	10,000 Miles/Year	15,000 Miles/Year	20,000 Miles/Year
Small Sedan*	55.1 cents	42.1 cents	35.7 cents
Medium Sedan*	71.9 cents	55.2 cents	46.9 cents
Large Sedan*	85.8 cents	65.1 cents	54.8 cents
4WD Sport Utility Vehicle*	91.0 cents	69.7 cents	59.1 cents
Minivan*	74.9 cents	57.6 cents	49.1 cents
Fuel costs based on the late-2007 average price of $2.941 per gallon*Small Sedan - Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla. *Medium Sedan - Chevrolet Impala, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. *Large Sedan - Buick Lucerne, Chrylser 300, Ford Five Hundred, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon. *4WD Sport Utility Vehicle - Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner. *Minivans - Chevrolet Uplander, Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

According to the 2002-2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics  the surveyed households in Miami, Tampa, Phoenix, and Milwaukee earned between $48,411 and $49,794, a difference of $1,383. Tampa had the highest income and Miami had the lowest. But their transportation expenditures ranged from a low of $6,797 in Milwaukee to a high of $8,659 in Phoenix, a difference of $1,862.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Center for Transit Oriented Development have developed a database that measures affordability in 52 major metropolitan areas around the country. Its interactive maps show the cost of housing alone as a percentage of income and then the cost of housing plus transportation as an income percentage.

The farther from public transportation a community is located the higher its cost of living. In some cities, the cost of housing is less than 30 percent of income, but when transportation is added in the costs can be as much as 65 percent of income.

"Gasoline at $1 and gasoline at $3 are whole different worlds," says Dave Van Hattum, program manager for the St. Paul-based Transit for Livable Communities. "This (Web site) map brings it home to people."