In all groups by household income except for the lowest and the second highest, households in rural areas have a higher transportation cost burden than households in urban areas (Figure 3). Rural households spend more on transportation due to longer distances traveled but the difference is not statistically different from urban households.ĭifferences in costs due to density can be seen through spending differences between urban and rural areas. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey microdata, available at as of September 2023.įor more information and further breakouts of household spending on transportation and vehicles owned, see the BTS’ website on transportation cost burden, Transportation Spending by Household Income and Vehicles Available. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics from U.S. NOTE: No vehicle means households do not own or lease a vehicle. This trend was seen across household income groups. In 2022, households with income lower than $25,000 who owned at least one vehicle spent 38% of their after-tax income on transportation while households with the same income who did not own or lease a vehicle spent 5% of their after-tax income on transportation (Figure 2). Transportation expenditures for households with at least one vehicle are much higher than for households with no vehicles. In 2022, those households owned the fewest number of vehicles on average (1.0 vehicle per household compared to 2.6 owned by households with an annual before-tax income over roughly $245,000) and a larger share did not own or lease a vehicle (30% of low-income households did not own or lease a vehicle in 2022 compared to only 3% of households with a before-tax income over roughly $245,000). With lower vehicle ownership, households in the lowest fifth by household income make fewer trips by personal vehicle.
Households who own or lease a vehicle spend more of their income on transportation and that trend is most pronounced for low-income households. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, Quintiles of Income Before Taxes table, available at as of September 2023.įor more information and further breakouts of household spending on transportation, see the Bureau of Transportation Statistic’s (BTS) website on transportation cost burden Spending on Transportation by Income Quintile.
Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics calculations from U.S. NOTE: In 2022, average after-tax income by income quintile: $16,337 (lowest income quintile), $39,300 (2nd income quintile), $63,676 (3rd income quintile), $99,891 (fourth income quintile), and $196,794 (highest income quintile). 1 In 2022, the household making less than $25,000 (the lowest income quintile) spent 30% of their after-tax income on transportation while those in the highest fifth by household income spent 12% (Figure 1). In 2022, the lowest income household had an annual before-tax income of less than roughly $25,000. The income range for each quintile is specific to the distribution of household income in each year. Income quintiles uses household income to divide households into five equal groups. The cost burden of transportation fell hardest on households in the lowest fifth by household income. In 2022, transportation was the second largest household expenditure behind housing, accounting for 15% of average household spending. This analysis looks private and public transportation spending as a share of after-tax income, which best represents what a household has available to spend. Transportation cost is a measure of transportation affordability. The cost of transportation, as well as the modes of transportation available and used, impact the total dollars that households spend on transportation. Transportation cost burden measures the percent of income a household spends on transportation. Transportation cost burden falls the hardest on lowest income families lower income households spent 30% of their after-tax income on transportation in 2022. Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics.National Transportation Knowledge Network.National Transportation Library Main - Library.Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS).Transportation Statistics Annual Reports.Local Area Transportation Characteristics (LATCH dataset).Government Transportation Financial Statistics.Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW).Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (eVIUS).
Introduction to Transportation Statistics.