Live Close or Commute Far — Which Actually Costs Less?

$1,200 cheaper rent + 1-hour commute often loses to $400 closer rent. We compute the time × hourly rate gap that the rent comparison alone misses.

How the math works

Two-path comparison: live-near vs live-far, with everything baked in.

  • Direct costs: miles × fuel cost + miles × wear-and-tear ($0.10-0.15/mi beyond fuel) + parking + tolls + transit fares.
  • Time cost: commute hours × pre-tax hourly rate. Pre-tax because that's what you'd need to earn to buy those hours back.
  • Rent differential: the actual gap between cheap-far and expensive-near monthly rent.

Output: total annual cost of each path. Often the "expensive" near-work apartment is the cheaper option once commute time and direct costs are included.

Math runs locally. Inputs never leave your browser. Source on github.

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$15,480/Year Commute Cost: Why $400 More Rent Is Often the Cheaper Choice
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