dclifelab/EVERYDAY DECISIONS, IN NUMBERS
THE COST OF GETTING THERE

What does your commute really cost?

See the annual cost of driving to work—and what one less day could save.

Your commute

01 / INPUTS

Use US gallons. Weeks exclude vacation, holidays, and other non-commuting time. Parking and tolls are paid per office day.

Vehicle wear & the value of time OPTIONAL

Sample rates below are editable assumptions, not national averages. Fuel is already counted separately.

YOUR ANNUAL COMMUTE

miles / year
office days / year

Where it goes

PER YEAR

Vehicle operating cost = fuel + enabled maintenance + tires. Total also includes parking, tolls, and enabled depreciation. Time is shown separately.

A LITTLE LESS COMMUTING

Make room for working from home.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL COST REDUCTION

How the math works FORMULAS & ASSUMPTIONS

Distance & direct costs

Round-trip miles = entered miles × 2 for one-way input, otherwise entered miles.

Annual office days = office days/week × commuting weeks/year.
Annual miles = round-trip miles × annual office days.

Fuel = annual miles ÷ MPG × gas price.
Parking / tolls = daily cost × annual office days.

Vehicle costs & remote work

Each enabled wear cost = annual miles × its $/mile rate. Vehicle operating cost = fuel + maintenance + tires. Total = operating cost + parking + tolls + enabled mileage-related depreciation.

New office days/week = current days − additional remote days. Recalculate with that schedule; savings = current total − new total.

Time & boundaries

Annual hours = round-trip minutes ÷ 60 × annual office days. Time value = hours × hourly value; this is an opportunity-cost estimate, not cash spending or income.

Fixed insurance, car payments, registration, age-related depreciation, transit fares, and home-office costs are excluded. Wear and depreciation savings are estimates; fixed monthly parking passes may not decrease with fewer office days.

All starting values are illustrative, including 48 weeks/year, $0.08/mile maintenance, $0.02/mile tires, $0.15/mile depreciation, and $25/hour time value. Replace them with your own estimates. Results use unrounded calculations; displayed dollars are rounded.