According to the 1997-1998 U.S. Department of Labor's Consumer Expenditure Survey, daily transportation costs are highest in Houston, Atlanta, and Dallas, followed by other sprawl capitals, Miami and Pheonix. The least expensive metro areas to travel in are New York City, Honolulu, and Baltimore, then Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington D.C.

Families in Houston spent 27% more on transportation than the national average of $6,312 per year and almost 46% more than those living in the New York City metro area. Even accounting for additional taxes due to governmental outlay for transit, tri-state residents do better, paying roughly $2500 per year less by household than their Houston counterparts.

The report found this pattern repeated within cities as well. Families in outlying areas of Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles must in some cases spend twice as much annually on transportation than those living in walkable neighborhoods or near active transit lines. Although the NYC metro region was not considered at this level of detail, household transportation expenses in Manhattan or its boroughs must be significantly less than the $5,950 annual expenditure attributed to a statistical area that includes Long Island and suburban Connecticut and New Jersey (MTR #286).

Another significant finding is that household transportation expenditure increased over the last ten years in metro areas that pursued significant highway expansion over the same period, while the cost of transport dropped in places where the number of highway miles built decreased (see graph).

For every private dollar spent in America, 18 cents pays for transportation, a larger share than what is spent on education, health care, or food. In 1998, 84% of the over $800 billion Americans spent on transportation was borne by individuals. The correlation described above show that investment choices made by Federal and state governments for the remaining 16% have a large impact on the amount that families are required to spend to get around. In particular, road building strategies cost residents twice, once in taxes and, again, in additional, often uncounted, increased personal transportation costs.

The full report is available on the Surface Transportation Policy Project website at http://www.transact.org