With many people heading back into the office recently, you may be dreading your daily commute again. You're not alone in this. The commute to work not only costs you time but also causes you to lose out on financial gains.

Specifically, for the time you lose actually working, but also in other ways, such as tolls and vehicle maintenance. Insurance can also get expensive unless you’ve got some cheap insurance hacks.

Not surprisingly, states in the South and Midwest have the least costly commutes across the US, with Tulsa, Oklahoma coming in as the least costly city. If you want to have some

financial gains

and help the planet, consider getting a hybrid or completely electric vehicle.

Even if you don’t live in the 4 cities that are the cheapest cities to commute in, there are a few great ways you can reduce the cost of your commute.

How much does your commute cost you?

Researchers from

Lending Tree

created a unique way to determine the opportunity cost of the average person's commute.

They took this method and applied it to top cities around the country using data such as average commute time, the median salary for each city, and the average number of hours worked by employees. This led them to be able to determine the opportunity cost of each city's commute.

If you didn’t have a commute and now do, the financial impact may be more than you think. Commuting costs are relative to each individual and can vary depending on many factors, but thankfully there are online websites that can be used to calculate almost any car expense.

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Cheapest cities to drive in

MORE: East Coast vs. West Coast: Living on One of These Coasts Will Cost You Extra

Nine out of 10 cities that ranked in the lowest opportunity cost for commuting were either in the Midwest or South. These regions tend to have shorter commute times, lower populations (which leads to less traffic on the road), and lower median earnings.

The least costly commute is found in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the average round trip is only 37 minutes and the opportunity cost is only $3,255 per year.

Which is a huge difference when looking at the city that ranked highest in commuting costs, Fremont, CA, at 73 minutes of commuting per day and an annual opportunity cost of $15,065.

Tulsa is followed by Toledo, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas in the ranking for the lowest cost to commute.

Toledo residents enjoy an average daily commute of just 40 minutes and their commute only costs them a yearly average of $3,348. While in Wichita, the cost of commuting averages at $3,431 per year, and the daily commute time is 38 minutes.

Ways to lower your commute costs

MORE: Getting Your Car To Last 200,000 Miles Is Easier Than You Think

If working remotely isn't an option anymore, there are still several other ways to lower your cost to commute to the office.

If you live in a city where public transportation is available, you could always go that route. But if the idea of sitting for extended periods of time with strangers doesn't sound appealing to you, you could also look into lowering your vehicle maintenance costs.

Lowering your insurance premiums is a great way to lower your commute costs. Let

Jerry

help you find affordable, quality insurance by searching over 45 companies with its AI-powered app to find the best rates suited for you.

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Written By

Serena Aburahma · Expert Insurance Writer

Serena has a BA in Honors English Literature from California State University, Northridge. She has worked as an editor and writer for several years and has had various forms of content published in magazines, websites, anthologies, and more. Serena calls herself a modern "Renaissance woman" since she has a hunger for learning and strives to succeed in many fields. During her free time Serena enjoys acting, singing off-key to songs in the car, and working on her novel.

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