The Cost of Commuting vs. Living Close
A comparison of the percentage of income the average person spends on transportation in three separate cities. Being able to walk or take transit as opposed to drive is economically advantageous.
“What’s especially troubling about these data maps is that the poor are hit the hardest. In the poorest census tract in Walla Walla (with median household income around $27,000), residents are still spending 26% of their income on transportation, which amounts to about $7,000 a year. Meanwhile, in the poorest census tract of Washington DC (where median household income is just $15,300), percent of income spent on transportation is about 10, i.e. $1,500 a year.”