The average American household spent $5,477 on gasoline and other automotive expenses last year. That was 14.5 percent of our daily spending*, which was more than we spent on groceries or utilities.
So say the statistics geeks at the personal finance website Bundle, which surveys government reports, credit transactions and other data to discover all kinds of interesting things about how we spend our money. They've turned their calculators and spreadsheets toward our cars and come up with some eye-opening figures.
The average American household spent $2,208 on gasoline last year and $3,269 on other auto-related expenses. Those are average figures of course, so your figures may vary. If you live in Connecticut, for example, your household shelled out $7,652 for the privilege of driving -- the highest in the nation. West Virginians, on the other hand, spent the least -- $4,258.
No surprise that those who drive to work solo spent the most, while carpoolers got off easiest. If you've got kids, you spent 21.5 percent more than those without 'em. Young adults -- aged 18 to 25 -- allocated 18 percent of their daily spending to driving, more than any other group.
Almost $5,500 a year to drive. Is it worth it?
Check out the Bundle report here and download a cool info-graphic here.
* Bundle data does not include mortgage or rent.
