Calculate Your Transportation Expense Ratio
Even if you have no plans to change your transportation habits right now, it still can be useful to know how much of your income typically goes to transit costs.
Your transportation expense ratio is the percentage of your income that you spend on transportation costs.
To calculate your transportation expense ratio:
- Start with your average monthly (or yearly) transportation expenses.
- Divide this figure by your gross monthly (or yearly) income, before taxes and any other adjustments.
- The amount, expressed as a percentage, shows how much of your earnings are used to pay for transportation.
For example:
Monthly transportation expenses = $400
Monthly gross income (before deductions) = $4,000
400 ÷ 4,000 = 0.10
(move the decimal two places to the right)
Transportation expense ratio = 10 percent
You spend around 10 percent of your monthly income on transportation.