U.S. consumer units spent an average of $13,318 on transportation in 2024, while vehicle purchases alone averaged $5,337. These figures describe annual household-level spending, whereas AAA’s modeled 2024 cost of owning and operating a new vehicle was $12,297 per vehicle.
Key Car Consumer Spending Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful measures across household spending, vehicle costs, fuel, and use:
- $13,318 was average annual transportation spending per U.S. consumer unit in 2024.
- Transportation represented 17.0% of total U.S. consumer-unit spending in 2024.
- Vehicle purchases averaged $5,337 per U.S. consumer unit in 2024.
- Vehicle purchases represented 6.8% of total U.S. consumer-unit spending in 2024.
- Average gasoline and other-fuel spending was $2,645 per U.S. consumer unit in 2024.
- Gasoline and other fuels represented 3.4% of total U.S. consumer-unit spending in 2024.
- Other vehicle expenses averaged $4,206 per U.S. consumer unit in 2024.
- Other vehicle expenses represented 5.4% of total U.S. consumer-unit spending in 2024.
- Average U.S. vehicle-insurance spending rose 12.3% in 2024.
- AAA estimated new-vehicle ownership and operation at $12,297 per vehicle in the United States in 2024.
- AAA’s modeled monthly new-vehicle cost was $1,024.71 in the United States in 2024.
- AAA’s 2024 model used 15,000 miles driven per vehicle annually.
- 197,134,299 light-duty short-wheelbase vehicles were registered in the United States in 2023.
- Light-duty short-wheelbase vehicles traveled 2,173,555 million miles in the United States in 2023.
- The average light-duty short-wheelbase vehicle traveled 11,026 miles in the United States in 2023.
- Vehicle fuel represented an estimated 3.27% of gross household income in the continental United States in 2018.
- Estimated vehicle-fuel income shares ranged from 2.24% in New York to 3.95% in South Dakota in 2018.
Contents
- Transportation budgets and trends
- Vehicle purchase spending
- Fuel and driving-cost data
- Insurance and other vehicle expenses
- New-car ownership costs
- Vehicle use, registrations and affordability
Car Consumer Spending Statistics: Transportation Budgets and Trends
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey reports average annual spending for U.S. consumer units. Its transportation category is broader than a car bill and should be read as a household budget measure, not a per-vehicle invoice.
| Year | Average transportation spending | Share of total spending |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $10,961 | 16.4% |
| 2022 | $12,295 | 16.8% |
| 2023 | $13,174 | 17.1% |
| 2024 | $13,318 | 17.0% |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2024. Values are rounded BLS averages for U.S. consumer units.
Transportation spending rose 12.2% from 2021 to 2022, then increased 7.1% from 2022 to 2023 and 1.1% from 2023 to 2024. The category’s share of total spending therefore remained close to one-sixth across the four reported years.
Vehicle Purchase Spending Statistics Across U.S. Households
Vehicle purchases are reported as net outlays, so these figures are not the sticker price of every vehicle bought. They are average annual amounts across U.S. consumer units, including units that did not make a purchase during the year.
| Year | Average vehicle purchases | Share of total spending |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4,828 | 7.2% |
| 2022 | $4,496 | 6.2% |
| 2023 | $5,539 | 7.2% |
| 2024 | $5,337 | 6.8% |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2024. The BLS measure is net vehicle outlay.
Vehicle-purchase spending fell 6.9% from 2021 to 2022, rose 23.2% from 2022 to 2023, and fell 3.6% from 2023 to 2024. The 2024 BLS comparison notes that new-vehicle spending declined 14.7%, while used-truck spending rose 14.8%, illustrating why the net category does not move uniformly across vehicle types.
Gasoline and Vehicle Fuel Spending Trends
Fuel spending varies with prices, miles driven, vehicle efficiency, and household travel. BLS reported gasoline and other-fuel spending of $2,694 per U.S. consumer unit in 2023 and $2,645 in 2024; the category represented 3.5% and 3.4% of total spending, respectively.
The detailed BLS gasoline category averaged $2,805 in 2021 and $2,449 in 2022. Gasoline spending then declined 12.7% in 2023 after rising 44.0% in 2022, so the detailed gasoline series and the broader gasoline-and-other-fuels category should not be treated as identical measures.
The Consumer expenditures in 2024 report supplies the BLS household averages and shares.
A separate Argonne estimate published by the U.S. Department of Energy found that the average household spent 3.27% of gross income on vehicle fuel in 2018. This estimate covered households in the continental United States, excluded the District of Columbia, and was based on annual travel, fuel price, and vehicle-efficiency assumptions rather than a current spending survey.
| Location | Estimated vehicle-fuel share of gross household income, 2018 |
|---|---|
| New York | 2.24% |
| South Dakota | 3.95% |
The state range was 2.24% to 3.95% across continental U.S. states. Source: FOTW# 1176: The Average Household Spent 3.27% of its Income on Vehicle Fuel in 2018.
Insurance, Maintenance and Other Vehicle Expense Statistics
BLS groups expenses other than vehicle purchases and fuel in an “other vehicle expenses” category. It averaged $3,534 per U.S. consumer unit in 2021, $3,834 in 2022, $3,845 in 2023, and $4,206 in 2024.
The category represented 5.3% of total spending in both 2021 and 2022, 5.0% in 2023, and 5.4% in 2024. Other vehicle expenses rose 9.4% from 2023 to 2024, according to the BLS annual comparison.
Average vehicle-insurance spending rose 11.5% in 2023 and 12.3% in 2024. These insurance figures are detailed BLS series results, while the broader “other vehicle expenses” category includes expenses beyond insurance and should not be interpreted as an insurance-only total.
The Consumer expenditures in 2024 report is the source for these U.S. consumer-unit measures.
Public and other transportation is related context, but it is not private-car ownership spending. That category rose 86.9% from 2021 to 2022 and 29.7% from 2022 to 2023.
New-Car Ownership Cost Statistics by Category and Assumption
AAA estimated the total annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle at $12,297 per vehicle in 2024, or $1,024.71 per month. AAA’s 2024 total was $115 higher than its 2023 total within the same study framework.
These are modeled estimates for selected top-selling 2024 models, not observed spending for every household. The study generally assumes 15,000 miles per year, making its result useful for a standardized ownership-cost comparison but different from the BLS average across consumer units.
AAA’s insurance assumption is a full-coverage policy for a driver under 65 with more than six years of experience, no accidents, and suburban or city residence. Actual premiums vary by driver, location, and vehicle.
The AAA Your Driving Costs: The Price of New Car Ownership Continues to Climb report gives the annual and monthly modeled totals. The 2024 Your Driving Costs + EV, Hybrid, & Gas Brochure Report documents the mileage and insurance assumptions.
Vehicle Use, Registrations and Consumer Affordability Data
Federal Highway Administration data provide a national operating context for consumer vehicle spending. The categories are administrative vehicle classes and do not map exactly to passenger cars; light-duty counts include vehicles beyond conventional cars.
| FHWA measure | United States, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Registered light-duty short-wheelbase vehicles | 197,134,299 |
| Registered light-duty vehicles, short- and long-wheelbase subtotal | 259,238,294 |
| Total motor-vehicle travel | 3,246,817 million vehicle-miles |
| Light-duty short-wheelbase travel | 2,173,555 million vehicle-miles |
| Average distance per light-duty short-wheelbase vehicle | 11,026 miles |
Source: Highway Statistics 2023, Table VM-1: Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data.
Urban roads accounted for 2,238,257 million vehicle-miles in 2023, compared with 1,008,560 million on rural roads. These are FHWA road-category totals, not household driving records.
Light-duty short-wheelbase vehicles generated 3,337,839 million person-miles in 2023, while all motor vehicles generated 5,103,815 million person-miles. FHWA estimates person-miles using occupancy information from the National Household Travel Survey and registration data, so these values are not direct counts of individual consumers.
The all-vehicle average distance traveled was 11,408 miles per registered motor vehicle in 2023. That measure includes trucks, buses, and motorcycles, whereas the 11,026-mile average applies to the light-duty short-wheelbase category.