If you’re traveling on a budget, start with the airports with the lowest average fares.
If you’re traveling on a budget, start with the airports with the lowest average fares.
The bargain-basement airfares of the past couple of years are over, and to find a cheaper flight, you’re going to have to work all the angles.
Airfares rose 18.6% between March and April, thanks to pent-up demand, fewer flights due to staffing shortages, and higher fuel costs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Most airfare search sites let you plug in multiple airports, so don’t just default to the largest or closest one. Prices vary between the big commercial hubs, and you can often find a cheaper or quicker option nearby.
To find the cheapest U.S. airports, NetCredit, an online personal loan provider for underserved consumers, used data on domestic airline itinerary fares from the Bureau of Transport and factored in average wages in states and metros from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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If you’re headed to a place with multiple airports, like New York or Los Angeles, there are good cheap alternatives. For example, flying domestically from Long Beach airport will cost you, on average, $252.07. The Long Beach airport is a 20-minute drive from LAX, where the average cost of flying domestically is $314.67. And for Hawaii’s big island, it turns out Hilo has average fares of $182.87, while across the island, Kona is more expensive at $277.62.
Atlantic City tops the list as the cheapest airport, which is mainly served by “ultra low fare” airline Spirit (SAVE) – Get Spirit Airlines, Inc. Report. By state, airports in Florida turn up most in the list.
According to NetCredit’s study, these are the cheapest and most expensive U.S. airports.
The Cheapest U.S. Airports1. Atlantic City International, New Jersey
Average fare: $109.43Share of monthly salary: 2.49%2. Orlando Sanford International, Florida
Average fare: $118.79Share of monthly salary: 2.94%3. St. Pete–Clearwater International, Florida
Average fare: $130.77Share of monthly salary: 3.03%4. Phoenix–Mesa Gateway, Arizona
Average fare: $137.61Share of monthly salary: 3.01%5. Punta Gorda, Florida
Average fare: $142.48Share of monthly salary: 3.83%6. Hilo International, Hawaii
Average fare: $182.87Share of monthly salary: 4.29%7. Myrtle Beach International, South Carolina
Average fare: $205.28Share of monthly salary: 6.28%8. Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International, Florida
Average fare: $207.55Share of monthly salary: 4.70%9. Orlando International, Florida
Average fare: $213.18Share of monthly salary: 5.27%10. Harry Reid International, Nevada (Las Vegas)
Average fare: $227.06Share of monthly salary: 5.45%11. Long Island MacArthur, New York
Average fare: $234.36Share of monthly salary: 3.96%12. Chicago Midway International, Illinois
Average fare: $244.36Share of monthly salary: 4.86%13. Miami International, Florida
Average fare: $246.03Share of monthly salary: 5.57%14. Long Beach, California
Average fare: $252.07Share of monthly salary: 4.75%15. Lehigh Valley International, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Average fare: $252.61Share of monthly salary: 5.91%The Most Expensive Airports1. Huntsville International, Alabama
Average fare: $456.17Share of monthly salary: 9.32%2. Yeager, Charleston, West Virginia
Average fare: $419.27Share of monthly salary: 10.38%3. Burlington International, Vermont
Average fare: $413.61Share of monthly salary: 8.80%4. Gulfport–Biloxi International, Mississippi
Average fare: $406.49Share of monthly salary: 10.55%5. Northwest Arkansas National, Arkansas (Bentonville)
Average fare: $406.33Share of monthly salary: 9.66%6. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Average fare: $399.22Share of monthly salary: 9.32%7. Washington Dulles International, District of Columbia
Average fare: $395.09Share of monthly salary: 6.14%8. McAllen Miller International, Texas
Average fare: $393.47Share of monthly salary: 11.97%9. Dane County Regional, Madison, Wisconsin
Average fare: $391.06Share of monthly salary: 8.14%10. Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International, Mississippi
Average fare: $390.81Share of monthly salary: 10.37%11. San Francisco International
Average fare: $389.49Share of monthly salary: 5.71%12. Hector International, Fargo, N.D.
Average fare: $386.08Share of monthly salary: 8.80%13. Ted Stevens Anchorage International, Alaska
Average fare: $385.99Share of monthly salary: 7.40%14. Columbia Metropolitan, South Carolina
Average fare: $385.34Share of monthly salary: 9.75%15. Chattanooga Metropolitan, Tennessee
Average fare: $381.52Share of monthly salary: 9.69%Search and compare other airports to find the cheapest near you at NetCredit.