Income vs. Gas Prices, an Update

It seems that some Americans are now spending twice as much of their household income for gasoline as they were in 1999. That is a serious number.

I believe that median household income is around $48,000 right now. So those Americans are spending about $5500 a year on gasoline. To me that is a scary number.

This also explains why you can no longer get a parking spot at the Tri-Rail parking lot in Delray Beach. Well if you get there before 6:30 AM I suppose you can.

This does not bode well for the economy. Let's see: drive, ride the bike or give up beer?

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Edmunds.com, which released an analysis saying that about 60 vehicles in the new-vehicle market now cost over $100 to fill up, also gave an update on how gas prices are grabbing more of consumers’ incomes. Edmunds says the median household is spending 11.5% of its income on gasoline, up from 4.6% of its income five years ago. Here’s a look at how that progressed: Date*    Price Per Gallon (1)    Median Income (2)    Income spend on fuel (3)    1991 $1.09 $30,126 4.9% 1995 $1.14 $34,076 4.6% 1999 $1.19 $40,696 4.0% 2003 $1.51 $43,318 4.8% 2007 $2.96 $48,201 8.4% 2008 $4.06 $48,201 11.5% Source: Edmunds.com