Texans Spend $350 a Month Just Getting to Work
Andrew Koole
· 4 min read
In
Texas
, commuting to work costs just over $4,200 a year, on average. That’s $350 a month that the average Texan is spending just to drive their car to work. Commuters in Texas can take a little solace knowing that they spend under the national average, but the real story is where those costs come from in the Lone Star State. According to data analyzed by
Jerry
, car insurance is the largest expense for American commuters. And while premiums are significantly cheaper in Texas than they are in other parts of the country, the overall cost to commute for Texans remains in the center of the spectrum. Surprisingly, the annual cost of gas is higher on average in Texas than it is nationally, even though the price of a gallon is significantly cheaper. The culprit? The daily commute for Texans is longer, and 81% of them do it alone.
How can Texans lower the cost of their commutes?
Commuters in Texas have a leg up on their counterparts in other states. The state’s oil reserves keep gas prices cheap, an average of about $3.07 per gallon compared to the national average of $3.42 per gallon.
According to Jerry’s data, the average
car insurance
premium is also cheaper in Texas ($1,929 per year) than the national average ($2,305). The things that raise the price of commuting in Texas play into two of the state’s most well-known characteristics: that it’s big and that its people are independent spirits.
Driving in the second-largest state geographically means people in Texas have more ground to cover than the average American. On top of that, they tend to drive themselves to work.
Naturally then, the easiest way to lower these costs is to carpool. Carpooling lowers nearly every contributing cost to commuting.
Pairing up with coworkers is the most traditional form of the concept, but carpooling apps like
GoCarma
also allow you to find people from your area that work in similar areas of town.Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
Other ways to keep commuting costs down
MORE: Rising Car Insurance Rates in Texas Can Be Blamed on a Few Factors
Carpooling is an effective way to get to work more cheaply, but it’s not for everyone. For Texans who value those few minutes of solitude every day, there are other tools at their disposal.
The most effective way to make work travel cheaper is to not travel to work. Remote positions are becoming more and more popular since the COVID-19 Pandemic forced companies across the country to create work-from-home policies.
If remote work isn’t an option, living closer to work and buying a fuel-efficient or electric vehicle can also lower expenses.
Use Jerry to make your commute cheaper in and out of Texas
MORE: Texas Woman Made a Huge Car Insurance Mistake and Is Stuck With the Bill
Commuting in Texas has its quirks and peculiarities, but in terms of car insurance, it looks a lot like the rest of the country. In every state but one (California), car insurance is the most significant direct cost to commuters.
Jerry can help you find the right insurance at the best price. A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.
And to ensure you always have the lowest rate, Jerry will send you new quotes every time your policy comes up for renewal, so you’re always getting the coverage you want at the best price. This level of service is why Jerry earned a 4.6/5 rating on the App Store and made it the top insurance app in the country.
