Enter your commute and your pay — see the true annual cost in dollars and hours, and what each office day really costs.
The commute math
vehicle = miles × 2 × days × 47.5 wks × $0.70
time = hours per year × pay rate × your time-value %
The per-mile figure bundles gas, maintenance, tires, and depreciation — the real cost of driving, not just the fuel. The time line is the one people argue about, which is exactly why it's a dial: at 0% you get the accountant's answer, at 100% the burnout-prevention answer, and at 50% the economist's.
A worked example
Twenty miles and 35 minutes each way, five days: about $6,650 of vehicle cost and 277 hours a year — at $35/hour valued at half, that's another $4,800, totaling ~$11,500 a year, or about $48 per office day. Suddenly "we're hybrid, three days" reads as a ~$4,600 raise, and the job across town at $5k more reads as a pay cut.
Using it in an offer decision
Feed the per-year number into the job offer comparison calculator as the commute cost line — it's built to take exactly this input. And when negotiating remote days, the per-office-day figure is your quiet anchor: every WFH day granted is that much compensation that costs your employer nothing. If the job sends you out of town, the per diem calculator covers the daily travel allowance.
Frequently asked questions
How much does commuting cost per year?
A 20-mile each-way drive, five days a week, runs about $4,700/year in direct vehicle costs at the standard mileage rate — before parking, and before valuing the ~230 hours of your life it consumes.
Should I count my time as money in commute math?
For decisions, yes — time is the whole reason commutes feel expensive. Valuing commute time at 50% of your pay rate is a common economist convention (it's unpaid but not exactly work). This calculator lets you set that dial yourself.
How much is working from home worth?
For a typical 20-mile suburban commuter earning $40/hour, roughly $9,000–13,000 a year in avoided vehicle costs and reclaimed time — which is why 'hybrid, 3 days' vs 'fully remote' is a compensation difference, not just a lifestyle one.
Is a longer commute worth a higher salary?
Divide the raise by the extra yearly commute hours: a $10,000 bump for an extra 45 minutes a day is about $43 per commute-hour before tax — decent if the drive is podcasts, bad if it's stop-and-go stress. The calculator gives you that number.