We compared drive-up parking rates at the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. to find where a week of parking costs the most and the least.
Find your airport Scroll to begin ↓A trip to the airport can be expensive. While the price of your ticket is dependent on where you are traveling, things like your checked bag and parking are standard whether you’re headed on a beachfront vacation or a work trip. It’s common for airport parking lots to update their fares regularly, and knowing which lot offers the best bang for your buck can be difficult.
That’s why the team at Florida Rentals set out to learn which airports across the country have the most affordable and most expensive parking. To do this, we analyzed the official websites for the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. and collected standard drive-up parking rates for two options: the closest parking and the cheapest parking.
We then collected one-week costs and ranked airports based on their average cost for both parking options. The rates collected reflect what a traveler pays without a reservation, toll pass, or membership, and include mandatory fees and any published parking taxes.
Finally, to compare the cost of parking with the cost of flying, we compared each airport's one-week parking costs to its average domestic airfare from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Average Domestic Airline Itinerary Fares for Q2 2026, which is mostly based on round-trip tickets. Read on to learn more about our findings.
Select an option to compare average costs.
Darker, larger dots mean a more expensive week of parking. Hover a dot for its rates, or hover a row in the table to find it on the map.
Average one-week cost is the mean of the closest and cheapest drive-up options. Honolulu is shown in its inset position.
Most travelers spend weeks hunting for the right flight and only a few minutes thinking about where their car will sit while they’re gone. That second decision can add a few hundred dollars to a trip, and how much it adds depends a lot on which airport you’re flying out of. We built this ranking around a full week away and averaged the two parking options at each airport, so an airport only lands near the top if both its closest and cheapest parking are easy on the wallet.
Leading the way with the most affordable parking is President Donald J. Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, with a week of parking averaging $56. Indianapolis International Airport is up next, claiming second place with an average cost of $80.50. This is followed by Sacramento International Airport and San Antonio International Airport, which tied for third place with an average price of $91.
Wrapping up the top five is Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas at $98 for a week of parking, which means the five cheapest airports in the study are also the only ones where a week of parking stays under $100.
The Midwest claims half of the 10 cheapest spots, as Indianapolis, St. Louis Lambert International Airport ($108.50), Kansas City International Airport ($108.50), John Glenn Columbus International Airport ($115.50), and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport ($115.50) all keep a week of parking at $115.50 or less. Those prices look even better next to the national picture, since a week of airport parking costs $172 on average across America’s 50 busiest airports.
On the opposite end of the ranking, LaGuardia is the most expensive airport to park at, with a week averaging $525. John F. Kennedy International Airport ($402.50) and Newark Liberty International Airport ($350) follow, while Boston Logan International Airport ($290.50) and the tie between Los Angeles International Airport and San Diego International Airport ($280) round out the most expensive airports. Put the two ends side by side and a week of parking at LaGuardia costs more than 9 times as much as a week at West Palm Beach.
LaGuardia is also the only major U.S. airport where a week of parking costs more than the average domestic plane ticket ($525 vs. $404). Because that fare is mostly based on round-trip tickets, travelers leaving their car at LaGuardia for a week can end up paying more to park than to fly there and back.
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Parking in the garage across from the terminal means walking your bags straight to check-in, while the economy lot usually means waiting at a shuttle stop before the trip has even started. Most airports build that convenience into their rates, and some charge far more for it than others.
For this part of the study, we switched to daily rates and compared what each airport charges for its closest parking against its cheapest parking, measuring the difference both in dollars and in how many times more the closer option costs. Across America’s 50 busiest airports, the closest parking costs $30 a day on average, compared with $19 for the cheapest parking. Over the course of a week, choosing the cheaper option saves travelers $79 on average.
The biggest gap belongs to Los Angeles International Airport, where the closest parking costs $40 more per day than the cheapest parking ($60 vs. $20). Newark follows with a $30 difference between its closest ($65) and cheapest ($35) parking. Chicago Midway International Airport ($28) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport ($27) round out the four biggest gaps.
When we measured the gap by how many times more the closer spot costs, Denver International Airport came out on top. The closest parking at Denver runs $35 a day, which is 3.5 times the price of its cheapest parking at $10 a day and the largest markup in the study.
At 8 airports, the closest parking costs the same as the cheapest parking, which sounds like a good deal until you look at LaGuardia, where even the cheapest option runs $75 a day. Travelers watching their budget will find the lowest daily rate at West Palm Beach ($8). Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Columbus are close behind, each charging $9 a day for their cheapest parking.
Choose a metro to compare its airports.
Average one-week cost across the closest and cheapest options
Parking at the Northeast's busiest airports costs more than twice as much as at Midwest airports. Hover a bar for details.
Regions follow U.S. Census Bureau definitions. Washington Dulles and Reagan National are counted in the South.
In a lot of big metro areas, travelers have more than one airport within driving distance, and the choice usually comes down to fares, flight times, and how bad traffic will be on the way there. Parking rarely makes that list, even though the gap between two airports in the same region can top $100 for a single week. We grouped the airports that serve the same metro area and compared their average weekly costs side by side, then sorted every airport into its U.S. Census region to see how prices shift across the country.
On a regional level, parking at the Northeast’s busiest airports costs more than twice as much as parking at Midwest airports, averaging $317 vs. $136 per week.
In Southern California, a week of parking costs $105 more at Los Angeles International Airport ($280) than at John Wayne Airport ($175) in Orange County. Bay Area travelers see a similar split, as a week at San Francisco International Airport ($231) costs $77 more than at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and San Jose Mineta International Airport, which both average $154.
Newark is the cheapest of the New York City area’s three major airports, but a week of parking there still averages $350. That’s $175 less than LaGuardia, though it’s still more than any airport outside the New York City area.
In the Washington, D.C., area, a week costs $52.50 more at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ($210) than at Washington Dulles International Airport ($157.50). Dallas travelers can save $70 a week by choosing Dallas Love Field ($126) over Dallas Fort Worth International Airport ($196).
Houston travelers won’t save anything by switching because George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport charge identical rates of $25 a day for the closest parking and $10 a day for the cheapest parking. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports also both charge $43 a day for the closest parking, and their cheapest parking is only a dollar apart ($16 vs. $15).
Average one-week cost at Florida's six major airports, compared with the U.S. average
Florida’s airports handle a steady mix of vacationers flying in, seasonal residents heading home for the summer, and locals leaving on trips of their own. For residents who drive themselves to catch a flight, the parking bill comes with every trip. Florida has six airports among the 50 busiest in the country, so we pulled them out of the national ranking to compare them with each other and with the U.S. average.
Those six airports average $127 for a week of parking, well below the $172 national average. The state is also home to the cheapest major airport in the country to park at, as West Palm Beach averages just $56 for a week.
Miami International Airport comes in second among Florida airports at $129.68 for a week of parking. Orlando International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers tie for third at $133, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport follows at $140. All four rank in the cheaper half of the study, putting five of Florida’s six major airports below the middle of the pack.
Tampa International Airport is the most expensive Florida airport to park at, with a week averaging $168. That’s three times the cost of West Palm Beach, though Tampa still comes in just under the national average. Fort Lauderdale stands out for a different reason, as it’s one of the few airports where the closest parking costs the same as the cheapest parking ($20 a day).
Travelers who are used to the old weekly deal in Fort Myers will notice a change on their next trip, as Southwest Florida International Airport ended its $60 weekly economy parking rate on October 1, 2026, so a week in the lot now costs $98.
Search by airport, city, or code to see both drive-up rates, where it ranks, and how a week of parking compares with the average plane ticket.
In this study, we set out to find the most and least expensive airports to park at in the U.S. To do this, we analyzed the 50 busiest airports in the 50 U.S. states based on the FAA's Preliminary CY2025 Enplanements at All Commercial Service Airports. For each airport, we collected standard drive-up parking rates from the airport's official website for two options: the closest parking (the cheapest lot or garage within walking distance of the terminal) and the cheapest parking (the cheapest airport-operated lot, including shuttle lots).
One-week costs use the airport's posted weekly rate or multi-day discount where offered, and seven times the daily maximum otherwise. Airports were ranked by the average of their one-week costs for both options, with tied airports sharing a rank.
Rates reflect what a traveler pays without a reservation, toll pass, or membership, and include mandatory fees and any published parking taxes. Airport-operated lots served by an airport shuttle were included, even if located off airport property; private off-airport lots, transit park-and-ride lots, and seasonal or reservation-only lots were excluded. Valet and premium parking rates were collected separately and did not factor into the rankings.
To compare the cost of parking with the cost of flying, we compared each airport's one-week parking costs to its average domestic airfare from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Average Domestic Airline Itinerary Fares for Q2 2026, which is mostly based on round-trip tickets. This comparison includes airports with available Q2 data, and we did not factor this data into the overall rankings. Data was collected September 28 to October 1, 2026.