Some commuters now pay $1,600 a month just to get to work — how the cost of gas is changing the math on where you live

If you're a operator with a gas-powered vehicle, you've nary uncertainty been feeling the symptom astatine the pump lately, with state prices jumping much than 50% since the extremity of February.

But for those Americans with agelong commutes — oregon who thrust for a surviving — those precocious prices tin mean a superior currency crunch. For some, it mightiness mean having to fig retired a caller mode to get to work, oregon adjacent reconsidering wherever they enactment and unrecorded altogether.

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Gas prices person spiked since the Iran warfare began connected Feb. 28, erstwhile the mean terms of U.S. regular gasoline sat astatine $2.98 a gallon (1). According to AAA, connected May 7 it was $4.56 — an summation of 53% (2).

"Supercommuters" consciousness the pinch

Researchers accidental determination mightiness beryllium much Americans with "super commutes" since the pandemic. According to a 2024 survey by researchers astatine Stanford University and INRIX that looked astatine the 10 largest cities successful the U.S., the fig of radical making commutes much than 75 miles had accrued 32% since the pandemic (3).

And portion moving from location spiked astatine the commencement of the pandemic, galore Americans are backmost successful the office. Nicholas Bloom, 1 of the authors of the Stanford study, told the Wall Street Journal that portion moving from location grew successful 2020, it dropped from 2021 to 2023, and flattened retired from 2024 connected (4).

However, Bloom besides told the WSJ that determination has precocious been an summation successful Americans' work-from-home days: from 24.7% of days successful February 2026 to 26.9% of days successful March 2026.

If you are a hybrid worker, it makes consciousness to propulsion for arsenic galore work-from-home days arsenic imaginable portion state prices stay elevated. But for the astir 63% of Americans who enactment afloat on-site, according to the WSJ and the Stanford study, determination whitethorn beryllium nary prime but to state up and caput to work.

Graduate pupil Nicole Smith told the WSJ that her commutes from Fredericksburg, Va., to Washington, D.C., to be her postgraduate programme person meant $200 much successful state costs a month, compared to earlier successful 2026. She said she is trying to negociate the hike successful costs by restricting recreation: "less amusive activities, little weekends out, little traveling."

In California, drivers are consistently facing higher state prices than the nationalist average. According to the California Energy Commission, it "costs much connected mean than different parts of the United States" to bargain state successful California due to the fact that the authorities is "isolated" successful presumption of however substance is transported there; the authorities besides mandates a peculiar formulation of state that burns cleaner, and is much expensive; and determination are biology programme fees successful summation to local, authorities and national taxes (5).