USDOT: Low-Income Households Bear Highest Transportation Cost Burden

The lowest-income U.S. households shoulder the biggest burden, proportionally, when it comes to transportation costs, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Dan Zukowski outlines the findings in Smart Cities Dive, noting that “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.” Meanwhile, households at the higher end of the income scale (above $148,682) spent 9.6 percent of their income on transportation, though they spent more overall. 

Transportation expenses were the second-largest average household cost for all income levels behind housing, and vehicle ownership and maintenance made up the largest purchases. “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.”