Goal: Uncover Top Metropolitan Cities to Own A Car

The objective of this project was to create an index ranking the best cities to own a car among America’s 20 most populous metropolitan areas.

The Scope: Cost of Car Ownership & Access to Vehicles

The index ranked America’s most populous metropolitan areas across two categories, Cost of Car Ownership and Access to Vehicles and Maintenance. The Cost of Car Ownership category consisted of six cost indicators, while the Access to Vehicles and Maintenance category consisted of four indicators.

Analysis Summary:

Atlanta, Miami, and Tampa rank the highest in the Best Cities to Own A Car Index. All three of these metro areas rank in the top five in the Cost of Ownership category and rank in the top 10 in the Access to Vehicles and Maintenance category.

Conversely, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco finish at the bottom of the index. Their low ranking is a result of the lowest scores in the Cost of Ownership category and bottom 10 scores in the Access to Vehicles and Maintenance category.

In the individual categories, Atlanta and Dallas rank the highest in the Cost of Car Ownership category and New York and San Francisco rank the lowest. Meanwhile, Miami and Detroit finish on top in the Access to Vehicles and Maintenance category, with Riverside CA and Phoenix finishing last.