Drivers Spend an Average of 17 Hours a Year Searching for Parking

Searching for parking is more painful than ever for U.S. drivers.

Motorists spend an average of 17 hours a year searching for spots on streets, in lots, or in garages, according to a report from INRIX, a specialist in connected-car services and transportation analytics.

The hunt adds up to an estimated $345 per driver in wasted time, fuel, and emissions. Overpaying — caused by drivers' inability to estimate how long they need to park, or by forking over extra at a garage to avoid the risk of a ticket — costs Americans more than $20 billion a year, or $97 per driver.

"Hunting for parking imposes significant costs on our pocketbooks that we often don't think about, and also adds to traffic congestion," said Bob Pishue, an INRIX transportation analyst and co-author of the report. "This is a problem not only drivers face, but local shops and businesses, too."

Big cities, big costs

Motorists in large cities endure the toughest challenges. In New York City, the hardest-hit U.S. urban area, drivers on average spend 107 hours a year looking for parking. The searches add up to an estimated $2,243 in wasted time, fuel, and emissions per driver, plus $4.3 billion in costs to the city.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Seattle round out the top five cities with the toughest parking experiences.

The broader U.S. economy also feels the pain. In all, 63% of the nearly 6,000 U.S. drivers surveyed reported they avoided driving to shopping sites, airports, leisure or sports centers, and other destinations due to parking challenges. Those drivers may instead have used other forms of transportation or shopped online after skipping stores.

The report used data from 100,000 locations across 8,700 U.S. and foreign cities, plus interviews with drivers in and around 10 major U.S. urban areas, to estimate the economic and non-economic impact of parking pain.

The hidden toll

The at-times maddening searches may also lead to personal and emotional problems. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. drivers reported feeling stressed while trying to find a parking spot. About 42% said they missed an appointment, 34% abandoned a trip because of parking issues, and 23% experienced road rage.

For professional drivers, the lesson is familiar: every hour spent circling for a spot is an hour not earning. Planning stops in advance — and routing around the worst bottlenecks — pays off in both time and fuel.