{
  "slug": "commute-cost",
  "title": "Commute Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "True Commute Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commute-cost",
  "summary": "Annual dollars and hours your commute actually costs.",
  "description": "Gas is the smallest part. Depreciation, maintenance, parking, and the value of unpaid hours in the car usually triple the sticker cost of a daily drive.",
  "formula": "Cost = Miles × cost per mile + parking + tolls; time cost = hours × hourly wage.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=commute-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "miles",
      "label": "Round-trip miles",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 34,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "days",
      "label": "Commute days per week",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 7
    },
    {
      "id": "weeks",
      "label": "Weeks per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 48,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 52
    },
    {
      "id": "mpg",
      "label": "Vehicle MPG",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 5,
      "max": 80
    },
    {
      "id": "gas",
      "label": "Gas price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3.6,
      "unit": "$/gal",
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "wearPerMile",
      "label": "Maintenance + depreciation",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.22,
      "unit": "$/mile",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "parking",
      "label": "Parking + tolls per day",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "minutes",
      "label": "Round-trip minutes",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 70,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "wage",
      "label": "Your hourly wage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "True annual cost including your time",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "cash",
      "label": "Out-of-pocket cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "hours",
      "label": "Hours per year commuting",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "timeValue",
      "label": "Value of that time",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perDay",
      "label": "Cash cost per commute day",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "miles",
      "label": "Miles driven per year",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Round-trip miles: 34",
      "Commute days per week: 4",
      "Weeks per year: 48",
      "Vehicle MPG: 28",
      "Gas price: 3.6 $/gal",
      "Maintenance + depreciation: 0.22 $/mile",
      "Parking + tolls per day: 6 $",
      "Round-trip minutes: 70",
      "Your hourly wage: 45 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "True annual cost including your time: $13,507.47",
      "Out-of-pocket cost: $3,427.47",
      "Hours per year commuting: 224",
      "Value of that time: $10,080.00",
      "Cash cost per commute day: $17.85",
      "Miles driven per year: 6,528"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter round-trip miles.",
      "Enter commute days per week.",
      "Enter weeks per year.",
      "Enter vehicle mpg.",
      "Enter gas price ($/gal).",
      "Enter maintenance + depreciation ($/mile).",
      "Enter parking + tolls per day ($).",
      "Enter round-trip minutes.",
      "Enter your hourly wage ($).",
      "Read your true annual cost including your time on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "miles": 20,
        "days": 2,
        "weeks": 29,
        "mpg": 17,
        "gas": 2.16,
        "wearPerMile": 0.132,
        "parking": 4,
        "minutes": 40,
        "wage": 27
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "miles": 34,
        "days": 4,
        "weeks": 48,
        "mpg": 28,
        "gas": 3.6,
        "wearPerMile": 0.22,
        "parking": 6,
        "minutes": 70,
        "wage": 45
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "miles": 54,
        "days": 6,
        "weeks": 52,
        "mpg": 45,
        "gas": 5.760000000000001,
        "wearPerMile": 0.35200000000000004,
        "parking": 10,
        "minutes": 110,
        "wage": 72
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the true commute cost calculator work?",
      "a": "Gas is the smallest part. Depreciation, maintenance, parking, and the value of unpaid hours in the car usually triple the sticker cost of a daily drive. The underlying maths is: Cost = Miles × cost per mile + parking + tolls; time cost = hours × hourly wage."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "9 values: round-trip miles, commute days per week, weeks per year, vehicle mpg, gas price, maintenance + depreciation, parking + tolls per day, round-trip minutes, and your hourly wage. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the true annual cost including your time result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/job-offer-compare",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/salary-negotiation"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Commute Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commute-cost)"
}