Commute Cost Calculator

How to use this calculator

Enter Round trip miles, Days per week, Weeks per year, Miles per gallon, Price per gallon ($), Parking per day ($). The result updates in your browser as you edit an input. The prefilled values are examples only.

How the estimate works

Find annual miles from distance and commute days, calculate gallons, then add parking.

What can change the answer?

This estimate includes fuel and parking only. Tolls, maintenance, tires, insurance, and depreciation can materially increase total driving cost.

Before relying on the result

Check that the figures use the same units and period. Compare the result against a current label, quote, contract, employer policy, or official dataset when appropriate. This estimate does not include factors you have not entered.

Further reference

For source data or a more detailed method, see U.S. Department of Energy: vehicle cost comparison. The calculator does not automatically import data from this source.

Worked example with the default inputs

A 30-mile round trip, five days a week and 48 weeks gives 7,200 miles. At 30 MPG and $3.50 per gallon, fuel costs $840. Parking is additional when a daily charge is entered.

Interpret the result in a planning record

The commute calculator turns round-trip miles, days per week and weeks per year into annual distance, then adds gasoline cost and entered parking charges. Adjust for days you work remotely or do not commute. Tolls, maintenance, tires and depreciation are outside this model, so label the result as fuel-and-parking cost rather than total ownership cost.

Save the input values, units and result together. Change one uncertain input at a time so you can see which assumption moves the answer. A displayed decimal is arithmetic precision, rather than evidence that the measurements or rates are equally precise.

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