Gas pains for BR poor, middle class
High gas prices hit harder in our parish than most other places
Higher gas prices hit Baton Rouge harder than much of America. The city is poorer than the country as a whole, heavily dependent on cars, and poorly served by public transit. For many residents, taking the bus comes with its own tax: long waits for CATS.
The middle class is not spared, either, with pinched households having to cut back on things they enjoy.
The details: Gas prices have jumped since the war with Iran began.
- Nationally, the average price of regular gasoline has climbed to $3.84 a gallon, according to AAA, from roughly $3 before the war.
- In Baton Rouge, a gallon of regular averaged $3.50 this week, up from $2.47 a month ago—a 41% increase.
- Filling a Toyota Camry now costs about $45.50, up from $32.11.
- Filling a Ford F-150 now costs about $94.50, up from $66.70.
- Prius owners, rejoice.
For poor households: The increase is not merely irritating. It is punitive.
An Urban Institute study found that commuters below the poverty line in a region that includes Louisiana spend about 4% of their income getting to work and back. At current fuel prices, that burden rises to roughly 7%.
Yes, but: Middle-income households are hardly spared.
RedEye calculates that a middle-income Baton Rouge household now spends roughly 5% to 6% of pretax income on gasoline—more than double the national per-capita average of about 2.3%. Every $1 increase per gallon adds about $1,000 a year, or $83 a month, to that household’s costs.
What that means: This is not ruinous in the way it is for poorer families. But it is enough to erode the spending that keeps a local economy humming: dinners out, new spring clothes, a new car.