The typical average miles driven per year is the amount of miles motorists typically travel each year. Making informed purchase decisions requires having a solid understanding of average annual mileage.
Additionally, you learn about your own driving habits and how they differ from those of others. For answers to frequently asked questions about annual mileage, continue reading.
Mileage and Its Importance
Mileage and its importance can never be overstated, as it should be considered when dealing with used rides. Every 7,500 or 10,000 miles, each vehicle must have scheduled maintenance performed, with each visit to the mechanic being recorded in the vehicle history report. A major warning sign for the buyer should be if the previous owner was careless and infrequently had his car serviced.
However, in some circumstances, things might even get worse. If the car has been sitting in the garage for the past year or two, it may be a lemon or have a serious breakage that will cost you a pretty penny. For automobiles with more than 100,000 miles on the odometer, the last clause also holds true.
But above all, mileage has a direct impact on your insurance rates. The companies will adjust your costs in proportion to potential risks because vehicles with high mileage tend to break down more frequently.
What Information Matters When Considering Average Mileage Per Year?
There is one number that represents the typical annual mileage. However, there are several key pieces of data to consider when reviewing average mileage:
- Nearly 70% of U.S. states are driving more each year.This statistic from CarInsurance.com shows we are relying more on personal vehicles each year to move around. The state with the biggest annual increase in average annual miles has historically been Oregon.
- Men pay more for their annual car insurance than women. They cover more ground than women do on average, which explains this. The typical American man travels 16,550 miles annually compared to the typical American woman’s 10,142 miles. Men are more likely to be in a car accident due to spending 63 percent more time behind the wheel.
- Compared to previous generations, fewer teenagers are obtaining their driver’s licenses today. In the 1980s, 46% of teenagers had a license. This percentage was just 24% in 2015. This might be due to the declining middle class or the desire of many parents for their kids to put off learning to drive. The number of teen drivers has increased recently, despite the fact that there has been a general decline.
- The number of senior drivers is increasing. Seniors value independence while younger drivers are hesitant to get behind the wheel. Compared to seniors in previous generations, drivers 65 and over are keeping their licenses for longer. Also, more of them are driving.
What Should I Consider When Using Mileage Statistics to Buy a Car?
More Americans than ever before are on their cars. That is valid for everyone, regardless of their age, location, gender, or financial situation. So, the majority of pre-owned vehicles have more miles on them than they did previously. It might be necessary for you to accept a car with more miles on it than you had anticipated or to purchase a more recent model. Decide which car is best for you by balancing your budget and annual mileage.
Why is the Average Annual Mileage Per Person Increasing?
Experts believe that the average amount of miles driven per year is increasing for a number of different reasons.
Some experts believe that the increase in miles driven per year reflects a growing economy. The number of miles driven rises along with the number of employed people.
The low price of fuel could also be responsible for the increase in the average annual mileage. When gas prices are high, drivers may actively try to cut back on their driving distance. However, they might feel more at ease taking longer road trips if fuel prices decline.
Urbanization’s quick growth could also be to blame. To accommodate population growth, developers are extending these areas outward. However, residents of these areas might have a longer commute to get to their places of employment, education, or other destinations. Because of this, the average annual mileage may have increased as a result of this expansion.
The lack of alternative transportation options is another factor that could be causing the average annual mileage to increase. Residents of many large cities lack access to affordable, dependable, and convenient public transportation. If these options were available, more people might opt to use them instead of driving, which would reduce the number of miles Americans drive on average annually.
How Does the Average Miles Driven Per Year Impact Car Purchases?
The vast majority of Americans, regardless of their age, location, economic situation, or gender, can all be categorically answered in light of the statistics. Simply put, the average number of miles driven annually by Americans is rising. Additionally, it has an impact on how they purchase cars.
Many Americans need a more fuel-efficient car to save money as the average annual mileage rises. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, someone who drives roughly 15,000 miles per year can save over $600 on gas by driving a vehicle that gets 30 miles per gallon instead of 20 miles per gallon. It may seem insignificant, but the average driver can save a lot of money with this 10-mile per gallon difference. This opportunity to save could motivate more drivers to switch to a fuel-efficient vehicle.
The mileage restrictions of many new car leases, which typically average 10,000 or 12,000 miles a year, have also been clearly exceeded by the realities of modern life and travel. That’s simply not enough for many new-car buyers, especially those who have lengthy commutes.
“A few years ago, I changed jobs and my commute doubled,” says John, a 52-year old father of three that lives outside Cleveland, Ohio. “I now travel more than 50 miles daily to and from work. After that, we spend our weekends chauffeuring the kids.”
John realized right away that his way of life didn’t fit the conditions of his new car lease. “I logged over 15,000 miles last year. I realized I was exceeding the mileage on the lease for my car because I was using too much gas.”
Every mile over the allotted mileage in their lease that is surpassed by drivers like John is assessed a fee. These charges may quickly add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in additional expenses.
John’s circumstance is fairly typical. Fortunately, this does not mean that leasing a vehicle is out of the question for people who drive more than 10,000 or 12,000 miles per year. There are high-mileage leases on the market, and one of them might be ideal for you.
How Do You Calculate Miles Driven Per Year?
Without a doubt, Americans are driving more miles on average each year. Calculate your annual mileage to see if you drive more or less than the average person.
To determine how many miles you drive annually, there are a few different methods. The simplest method is to look at your car’s odometer and divide the total mileage by the number of years you’ve owned it.
You drive roughly 10,000 miles per year if you’ve driven the car for five years and have racked up about 50,000 miles on it. Of course, this only applies if you bought the car brand new.
If you know how many miles were on the car when it was purchased, you can still use this method to figure out your average mileage even if the vehicle wasn’t brand-new. Let’s say, for illustration, that the car had 20,000 miles on it when you bought it three years ago. It has now traveled 50,000 miles. This indicates that you traveled 30,000 miles, or roughly 10,000 miles per year, in three years.
If you don’t know how many miles your car had when you bought it, there are also a lot of helpful, simple mileage calculators online that can quickly and easily help you calculate your annual average miles driven. But a typical calculator is just a conversion table. It will annualize the number of miles you drive on average each day or week after you provide an estimate. For instance, if you assume you travel just 17 miles per day, that equals 119 miles per week and 7,000 miles overall.
However, it’s best to first track your mileage for an average week in order to make the most accurate calculation. The majority of people drive more in the week than on the weekends, so recording your mileage for a single day and multiplying it by 365 will probably result in an incorrect total. The best way to avoid this issue is to track your mileage over the course of a typical week or even a month, then multiply that figure by 52 or 12 to avoid the issue.
It is simple and doesn’t take long to keep track of your mileage. Your car handles it for you. Each vehicle has a trip counter. Reset it before you leave the house on Monday morning so it reads all zeros and operates normally. Don’t even consider it. The following Sunday after dinner, go out to your car and note how many miles you’ve covered that week. Then, divide this result by 52 to determine your typical annual mileage.
Around 250 miles will be involved for many Americans. Eileen, who travels around Los Angeles in her Audi SUV for about 13,000 miles a year, can attest to this. She commutes 15 miles from her home to work every morning before picking up her teenage daughters from school. She departs from her job in the afternoon to pick up her daughters. The next step is typically to get to a volleyball match or practice. She travels about 1,100 miles a month on average, not including errands and the occasional night out.
Eileen’s daily activities push her past the typical car lease’s mileage limit, just like John in Ohio. When she leased a Volvo for 36 months with a 36,000-mile cap a number of years ago, this became a problem.
How Mileage Impacts Insurance Rates
Overall, your car insurance provider bases your rates on your mileage.
Therefore, depending on how your mileage stacks up against that of the average driver, some may offer higher or lower rates.
But why do auto insurance companies care about how many miles you drive a year?
Well, because they run a higher risk of being involved in more collisions.
On the other hand, those who drive fewer miles are at a lower crash risk.
However, insurance companies consider other factors in addition to mileage when calculating your premium.
The premium you pay depends on your driving history and where you live.
What Average Annual Mileage Do I Need to Get a Discount?
Your auto insurance provider and the state you reside in have different rules.
But, for the most part, you need to drive under 7,000 miles a year to get a low mileage discount.
You’ll see that this amount is roughly half of what an average driver travels in a year.
Those who drive more than 20,000 miles on average each year may experience a significant increase in their driving rates.
What is Low Mileage Insurance?
A type of auto insurance known as low mileage insurance bases your driving rates on the number of miles you drive each year.
The insurance provider will typically charge you based on how many miles you drive after you pay a low monthly rate.
For those who do not drive frequently, this kind of auto insurance is excellent.
They can get rates that are better than those of the average American, which is ideal for them.
FAQs
How Many Miles Does the Average Driver Drive in a Month?
Approximately 1,123 miles are traveled each month by the typical American driver.
This sum is equal to traveling nonstop for 17 hours from New York City to Kansas City.
However, mileage varies based on things like gender and age.
Men between the ages of 34 and 54, for instance, log the most monthly miles at roughly 1,500.
Women over 65, on the other hand, drive the fewest miles per month, averaging only 400.
How Many Miles Does the Average Driver Drive in a Week?
About 259.15 miles are traveled each week by Americans.
Overall, most of this driving is for:
- Running errands and shopping (45% or 116.62 miles)
- Social and recreational trips (27% or 69.97 miles)
- The daily commute (15% or 38.87 miles)
Also, we tend to make the most driving trips on Fridays and the least on Sundays.
How Many Miles Does the Average Driver Drive in a Day?
In the US, a daily mileage of 36.92 miles is typical.
This amount equates to about 55 minutes of daily driving.
How Many More Cars Are on U.S. Roads Each Year?
Every year, there are more cars on American roads. Every year, there are exponentially more new cars produced. Because it fluctuates so quickly, it is challenging to estimate the increase precisely.
Summary: What’s the Average Miles Driven Per Year?
Mileage is a significant factor that directly affects your insurance rate and conveys a lot about the state of the vehicle. When looking for a used car, you should always pay attention to it, but it never hurts to run the numbers once in a while to see how your current vehicle stacks up.
Knowing how many miles you’ve driven can provide you with a wealth of information about your vehicle or assist you in estimating your insurance costs for the upcoming year. It’s best to come prepared because businesses frequently use averages to evaluate situations and raise rates accordingly.
