Orlando, Miami spend largest share of household income on cars
As the US continues to face a car shortage, many are discussing the changing face of automobile ownership. To provide data-driven context to this conversation, doxo has published an op-ed with CBT News, a national media outlet that caters to leaders of the automotive industry. In the piece, doxo contrasts spending in the 25 largest US metro areas, showing where residents pay the highest share of household income on cars.
doxo introduces a new form of rankings for auto category analysis, picking up from the June releases of doxoINSIGHTS’ reports on the Auto Insurance industry and the Auto Loans industry. Those reports, whose coordinated release dug into the absolute costs of car ownership in the US, showed which states, towns and large metro areas are the most and least expensive in each category.
doxo’s new list, however—the Car Ownership Share of Household Income rankings—analyzes the sum of average monthly auto insurance and average monthly auto loan costs compared with average monthly household income. They rank the 25 largest metro areas in the country, and find that Orlando and Miami residents spend the largest share of household income on cars, while residents of Washington DC and San Francisco pay the smallest share of household income.
Ranking Map shows metros where residents spend the most on vehicles
See the full CBT article for analysis on what’s behind the reshuffle in rankings that occurs when we account for household income. The piece discusses more issues, such as weather and region, and how they factor into the rankings as well. The piece also has a graphic with the 25 metro rankings visually depicted in differently sized circles across the US map.
Additionally, if you’d like to browse more data for 900+ towns and cities in the country, including average monthly auto loan and auto insurance bills, search doxo’s regional bill comparison database.
Rankings for the top 25 metro areas by Car Ownership Share of Household Income
| Ranking | Metro Area | Auto Insurance (average monthly bill) | Auto Loan (average monthly bill) | Car Ownership Monthly Costs (Auto Insurance + Auto Loan) | Car Ownership % of monthly Household Income |
| 1 | Orlando, FL | $238 | $397 | $635 | 14.1% |
| 2 | Miami, FL | $245 | $429 | $674 | 14.0% |
| 3 | Cleveland, OH | $204 | $357 | $560 | 11.8% |
| 4 | Atlanta, GA | $178 | $449 | $627 | 11.4% |
| 5 | Detroit, MI | $211 | $373 | $584 | 11.2% |
| 6 | Pittsburgh, PA | $219 | $331 | $549 | 11.2% |
| 7 | Portland, OR | $166 | $468 | $634 | 11.1% |
| 8 | Houston, TX | $155 | $466 | $621 | 10.7% |
| 9 | Charlotte, NC | $169 | $373 | $542 | 10.5% |
| 10 | Dallas, TX | $163 | $447 | $610 | 10.4% |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $217 | $411 | $628 | 10.4% |
| 12 | Los Angeles, CA | $172 | $451 | $623 | 10.2% |
| 13 | Kansas City, MO | $132 | $427 | $560 | 10.2% |
| 14 | New York, NY | $262 | $441 | $703 | 10.2% |
| 15 | St. Louis, MO | $162 | $381 | $543 | 10.2% |
| 16 | Denver, CO | $191 | $464 | $655 | 10.1% |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $155 | $370 | $525 | 10.0% |
| 18 | Salt Lake City, UT | $165 | $424 | $588 | 9.7% |
| 19 | Sacramento, CA | $156 | $411 | $567 | 9.7% |
| 20 | Boston, MA | $211 | $440 | $651 | 9.5% |
| 21 | Philadelphia, PA | $193 | $372 | $565 | 9.4% |
| 22 | Seattle, WA | $209 | $429 | $639 | 9.4% |
| 23 | Minneapolis, MN | $183 | $417 | $601 | 9.3% |
| 24 | Washington, DC | $266 | $353 | $619 | 7.9% |
| 25 | San Francisco, CA | $164 | $448 | $613 | 7.5% |