I came across these pretty nifty graphics on NYTimes.com. It basically breaks down where the increasing gasoline prices hit the Unite States the hardest.

Before looking at the images, you would think that the places where gas prices are the highest would be hurt the most. Imagine my surprise…

Gas Prices

Percent of Income Spent on Gas

As you can clearly see California has some of the highest prices in the U.S., but the state is dressed in shades of purple when it comes to percent of income spent. In the D.C area where I’m at, I’ve seen prices go up up, but apparently it doesn’t really matter compared to other parts of the country. The charts are basically inverse of each other.

When I think about it though, it all seems pretty reasonable.

Washington D.C., California, and New York make more income than much of the rural areas that plague the central part of the U.S.

The central part of the country has less population, income, and wealth. Combine all this together and we have solved our mystery.

I would be really interested in a graphic that shows how much percent of income was being spent on gas just 5 or so years ago. Somebody make sure to leave a comment, email me, or something if you know where something like that is.

Did these images surprise you?

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