The Cost of a Road Trip Across the United States

Taking a road trip across the United States offers an alternative to flying that can be more fun and, sometimes, less expensive. “Sometimes” is a loaded word here. Consider how prices have changed between 2019 and 2024. The price of dining out has risen dramatically since the Covid pandemic. Gas prices, as always, have seesawed but are considerably higher now than then.

Still, some things haven’t changed: If your point of origin and destination do not happen to be near major airports that offer an abundance of cheap flights, the price of airline tickets can be steep compared to the cost of driving.

The following analysis compares the cost of a road trip from New York City to Los Angeles five years ago, in 2019, to the cost of making the same trip in 2024. Expenses considered include gas, food, and lodging.

Key Takeaways

• The total cost of a hypothetical road trip from New York to Los Angeles rose nearly 20% from 2019 to 2024.
• The real cost of the trip is highly variable depending on whether you choose to travel first-class or economy.
• The best time to travel is when gas prices are at a low point.

Gas Prices

New York to Los Angeles covers 2,800 miles. Even if you’re driving a hybrid, the trip requires many stops at gas stations to fill up. To make things simple, assume that you are driving a four-cylinder Toyota Camry, which gets about 34 miles per gallon for combined highway and city driving. In this case, the trip requires 82 gallons of gas.

The price of gas varies in different parts of the country, so national averages must suffice to estimate fuel costs for a cross-country trip. In March 2019, the average cost for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline was $2.44. In March 2024, its average cost was $3.32. Therefore, the cost of gas to drive from New York to Los Angeles in a Camry increased from about $200 to $272.

Your gas prices will be way higher, of course, if you insist on driving a gas-guzzling SUV.

Food Prices

The cost of food will vary greatly on this cross-country trip. Stopping for meals at expensive steakhouses, for instance, imposes much steeper costs than packing coolers full of sandwiches and making an occasional splurge at McDonald’s.

Regardless of whether you are fine dining or filling your belly on a budget, food costs away from home in the United States are 1.2% higher in 2024 versus 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Assuming a seven-day drive—enough time to get from New York to Los Angeles and make some stops along the way—and three meals per day at a base price of $10 per meal, your food costs for the trip rose from $210 in 2019 to about $258 in 2024.

Lodging Prices

The biggest determinant of lodging prices is how you pace the trip. Putting the pedal to the metal and rotating drivers so that you make progress around the clock results in lower lodging costs than sightseeing along the way and then turning in for a good night’s sleep.

For an apples-to-apples comparison from 2019 to 2024, again consider a seven-day trip in which you spend six nights at hotels. The average hotel room cost $168.32 per night in March 2019 and $194.04 per night in March 2024. Your lodging costs, then, increased from about $1,010 to about $1,165.

Frugal cross-country road-trippers can control lodging costs by staying at discount motel chains such as Motel 6, or camping along the way. You can control what you pay for lodging to a large degree by choosing your accommodations carefully.

Total Trip Costs

Adding up the cost of gas, food, and lodging, a typical road trip from New York to Los Angeles has increased in price, from about $1,420 to about $1,695 between 2019 and 2024.

That’s close to a 20% increase.

Is It Cheaper to Drive or Fly Across the U.S.?

This depends largely on how far you’re going and how many you’re traveling with.

For a short trip, it’s cheaper to drive, especially if it’s a family trip. Airline ticket pricing doesn’t rely much on the distance flown, and three or four tickets are going to be pricey.

For a long trip, it might be cheaper to fly, if you shop around for the best airfare. You’re eliminating the biggest costs of driving long-distance, including lodging and fuel.

How Long Does It Take to Drive Across the U.S.?

It takes about 40 hours to drive from New York City to Los Angeles using highways as much as possible, according to Google Maps. That’s a trip of about 2,777 miles. Orlando to San Francisco is a little longer at about 41 hours.

This would be a pedal-to-the-metal drive with no rest stops, never mind overnight stops.

A more realistic timeframe might be a seven-day drive, assuming about six hours behind the wheel total each day. This also assumes you’re on vacation and not going for a land-speed record.

Can I Save Money By Staying in a National Park?

You bet! Staying overnight in a National Park, mostly in campgrounds, costs $15 to $30 a night. Some parks have cabins for rent at $85 to $110 a night. Entrance to most parks is free. The National Park Service has an app with information about its facilities.

The Bottom Line

The increased price of this hypothetical road trip across the U.S. is a bit of a shocker. But keep in mind that dozens of variables can lower (or increase) the real costs of your trip.

Lodging and food are the two big costs that are within your control. Virtually every highway across America gives you easy access to a variety of hotels and restaurants that cater for the full range of traveler budgets.

Gas prices are, of course, not negotiable. Your best bet is to wait until gas prices are relatively low to plan a cross-country trip.

Read the original article on Investopedia.