Commute Cost Calculator
Enter your round trip miles, your MPG, a gas price and the days a week you drive to work. The calculator prices one round trip and multiplies it by your days per week, by 21 workdays a month and by 250 a year (fewer if you commute fewer than five days). It counts fuel only, not tolls, parking or wear on the car.
Days / Week
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Enter round trip miles
Count the drive to work and back. An office 10 miles away is a 20 mile round trip; entering 10 halves every result.
- 2
Use the MPG you get on this drive
If the commute is mostly stop and go, your city MPG is closer than the highway figure. Your own number from the Mileage (MPG) Calculator is better still.
- 3
Set days per week and check the price
Fewer days scale the month and year down: 3 days a week counts 13 days a month and 150 a year. The gas price box starts at a current average; type over it with what you pay.
Formula and Logic
Every result comes from one daily figure. The examples under each step use a 40 mile round trip in a 20 MPG car at an example price of $4.00 a gallon.
Step 1: Fuel used per day
Round trip miles ÷ MPG = gallons per day
Example: 40 miles ÷ 20 MPG = 2 gallons per day
Step 2: Daily fuel cost
Gallons per day × Gas price = daily cost
Example: 2 gallons × $4.00/gal = $8.00/day
Step 3: Extended over time
Weekly = daily × days/week · Monthly = daily × 21 · Yearly = daily × 250
Example: $8.00 × 5 = $40.00/week · $8.00 × 21 = $168.00/month · $8.00 × 250 = $2,000.00/year
The 21 and 250 are for a five day week. For fewer days both scale down: days per week ÷ 5 × 21, rounded, for the month and days per week × 50 for the year.
Example Calculations
Example 1: Five day office commute
Inputs
- Round trip miles30
- Vehicle MPG30
- Gas price$4.00
- Days per week5
Outputs
- Daily cost$4.00
- Weekly cost$20.00
- Monthly cost$84.00 (21 workdays)
- Yearly cost$1,000.00 (250 workdays)
One gallon a day at $4.00 adds up to $1,000 over 250 workdays.
Example 2: Longer suburban commute
Inputs
- Round trip miles50
- Vehicle MPG25
- Gas price$4.25
- Days per week5
Outputs
- Daily cost$8.50
- Weekly cost$42.50
- Monthly cost$178.50 (21 workdays)
- Yearly cost$2,125.00 (250 workdays)
Two gallons a day is 500 gallons over 250 workdays, so every 10 cents on the gas price adds $50 a year.
Example 3: Hybrid schedule, 3 days a week
Inputs
- Round trip miles24
- Vehicle MPG32
- Gas price$3.90
- Days per week3
Outputs
- Daily cost~$2.93
- Weekly cost~$8.78
- Monthly cost~$38.03 (13 commute days)
- Yearly cost$438.75 (150 commute days)
24 ÷ 32 = 0.75 gallons a day, × $3.90 = $2.925. Driving the same route five days a week would cost about $731 a year (250 × $2.925).
Comparing Two Jobs or Two Homes
Round trip distance drives the whole result. A job 8 miles away is a 16 mile round trip; one 22 miles away is 44 miles. Over 250 workdays that is 7,000 extra miles a year. In a 28 MPG car at an example price of $3.80 a gallon, the farther job costs about $950 more a year in fuel alone (7,000 ÷ 28 = 250 gallons, × $3.80 = $950).
Run both options through the calculator with your own MPG and local price, then weigh the gap against the difference in salary or rent. If a result looks too high, check that you entered the round trip distance and not double it; if it looks too low, check that your MPG reflects stop and go driving rather than the highway figure.