Survey
The most expensive car rental destinations over the Christmas holidays
December 20, 2018

CheapCarRental.net conducted a survey comparing car rental costs over the Christmas holiday across the United States. New York City came out as the top most-expensive destination to rent a car Dec. 23–27, with an airport pick up and drop off.

The survey compared 40 popular U.S. destinations over the same time period. For each city, the survey compared the rates for the cheapest available rental car at the city’s major airport.

In New York, travelers will pay $179 per day for the most affordable rental car, by far the highest rate among all destinations considered by the survey. This is a 223 percent rate increase over average winter car rental rates in NYC.

Seattle and New Orleans rank as the second and third most-expensive destinations for car rentals over the holidays. Travelers will pay $118 per day for the most affordable car rentals in Seattle and $109 per day for the most affordable car rentals in New Orleans. Seattle’s rates are up more than 300 percent for Christmas, while New Orleans rates are up 84 percent.

The least expensive destinations according to the survey include Louisville, Orlando and San Antonio, where travelers can find rental cars for around $40 per day.

The following list compares 40 U.S. destinations based on their car rental rates over Christmas, alongside their rate increases as compared to average winter rates outside of the holiday period. The rates shown above reflect the average daily rate for the cheapest available car during the period spanning Dec. 23–27, 2018. Each respective city's main airport was chosen as the pick-up and drop-off location.
  • 1. New York City $179 (+223%)
  • 2. Seattle $118 (+315%)
  • 3. New Orleans $109 (+84%)
  • 4. Denver $104 (+187%)
  • 5. Honolulu $99 (+157%)
  • 6. Boston $95 (+215%)
  • 7. Pittsburgh $94 (+114%)
  • 8. Minneapolis $87(+84%)
  • 9. Portland $86 (+118%)
  • 10. Tampa $86 (+186%)
  • 11. San Diego $82 (+194%)
  • 12. Washington DC $81(+105%)
  • 13. Jacksonville $79 (+168%)
  • 14. Albuquerque $78 (+60%)
  • 15. Atlanta $77 (+131%)
  • 16. San Francisco $71(+151%)
  • 17. Kansas City $70 (+49%)
  • 18. Houston $66 (+61%)
  • 19. Dallas $65 (+77%)
  • 20. St Louis 61 (+102%)
  • 21. Indianapolis $61 (+82%)
  • 22. Philadelphia $57 (+17%)
  • 23. Austin $56 (+67%)
  • 24. Charlotte $56(+15%)
  • 25. Los Angeles $55 (+155%)
  • 26. Nashville $55 (+22%)
  • 27. Baltimore $54 (+37%)
  • 28. Cincinnati $53 (+40%)
  • 29. Chicago $52 (+63%)
  • 30. Miami $51 (+118%)
  • 21. Cleveland $50 (+23%)
  • 22. Salt Lake City $50 (+19%)
  • 23. Detroit $49 (+33%)
  • 24. Phoenix $47(+31%)
  • 25. Memphis $47 (+31%)
  • 26. Fort Lauderdale $45 (+101%)
  • 27. Las Vegas $45 (+35%)
  • 28. San Antonio $41 (+33%)
  • 29. Orlando $36 (+33%)
  • 30. Louisville $35 (+7%)


About the Survey:
Rates were established on December 15, 2018 via a leading car rental comparison engine.

Press Contact: Michelle Walters, press@cheapcarrental.net