The Cheapest U.S. Cities to Rent Cars

Chicago is not usually thought of to have an ultra-high price of residing relative to its coastal, city counterparts. However the Midwestern metropolis is the costliest main metropolis if that you must hire a automobile.

That is in accordance with a BaghdadTime evaluation performed in March 2022 of 360 rental automobile costs from eight main automobile rental corporations in the USA.

Costs used had been primarily based on the corporate’s lowest-priced rental (usually a sedan) from airports and off-site rental automobile places. These websites had been in areas with the ten largest airports primarily based on enplanements utilizing 2020 Federal Aviation Administration information. Enplanements concern paying passengers who board an plane, together with these boarding one other as a part of a layover.

Listed here are the metro areas with the ten largest U.S. airports by enplanements, ranked by common weekly automobile rental value from lowest to highest. Costs had been primarily based on each airport places and off-site places.

The three most cost-effective locations to hire a automobile, on common, are Charlotte, North Carolina; Orlando, Florida; and Dallas-Fort Value. In distinction, the three most costly metro areas to hire a automobile are Las Vegas, Phoenix and Chicago.

In Chicago, you may pay on common $671 to hire a automobile for per week, which is about 37% greater than you’d pay to hire a automobile in Charlotte.

Listed here are the ten largest U.S. airports by enplanements, ranked by common weekly automobile rental value from most cost-effective to most costly:

It prices $743 on common to hire a automobile particularly from Chicago-O’Hare Airport, which is even larger than the $671 common value to hire a automobile in Chicago. In the meantime, at Orlando Airport, the most cost effective main U.S. airport to hire a automobile, common charges are roughly in step with costs to hire a automobile elsewhere in Orlando.

Airport rental automobiles are typically dearer than off-site places for a lot of causes. Many airports tack on rental automobile charges that you just will not discover when renting a automobile from the identical firm at an off-site location. These embody buyer facility fees and airport concession charges, which fund bills like airport safety and shuttles to rental automobile amenities. That is on prime of taxes utilized on the state and native ranges.

At Chicago-O’Hare, the 2019 efficient tax charge, together with all taxes and charges, was about 51%, in accordance with a March 2019 report titled “Reforming Rental Automobile Excise Taxes” from the Tax Basis, an unbiased tax coverage nonprofit. In 2022, these figures embody a 5% Illinois state automobile rental tax, a 6% excise tax levied by the town’s Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, and one other 9% private property lease transaction tax imposed by the town.

E-book your journey backward: This yr could be the time to guide your rental automobile first reasonably than plan your trip round flight or lodge offers (as is frequent). First, select a metropolis the place you will discover an ideal rental automobile deal, which may doubtless be Charlotte, Orlando or Dallas-Fort Value. Then, seek for an appropriate mode of transport and the place you may keep.

Select cities the place you possibly can take public transit as a substitute: Certain, rental automobiles are costly in Chicago, however you won’t want one anyway. Chicago’s Blue Line ‘L’ prepare supplies 24-hour prepare service that may get you from Chicago-O’Hare Airport to downtown in about 45 minutes, which — relying on the time of day — could be quicker than driving anyway. Fares from O’Hare price $5 (simply $0.75 when you’re a scholar).

Seattle-Tacoma Airport is the second-most costly main U.S. airport to hire a automobile from, but it surely’s additionally served by a lightweight rail that may take you on to downtown Seattle in 38 minutes. As well as, by counting on public transportation, you may save on fuel and parking.

Use journey bank cards and be part of rental automobile loyalty applications: When you should journey to an costly metropolis and wish a rental automobile, a minimum of take advantage of it. Cost your rental to a journey bank card with rental automobile advantages. The finest bank cards for rental automobiles can provide bonus factors and miles out of your spending, and lots of include advantages like rental automobile insurance coverage protection, which may generally prevent tons of of {dollars}.

And it is nearly all the time a good suggestion to join a rental firm’s loyalty program. Even with out prime tiers of elite standing, these applications might provide member-exclusive charges and different advantages, corresponding to members-only counters that may assist you skip the road. As a result of even if you cannot lower your expenses, a minimum of you should utilize your purchases to earn rewards — or prevent time.

You need a journey bank card that prioritizes what’s essential to you. Listed here are our picks for the finest journey bank cards of 2022, together with these finest for: