America's Thanksgiving travel splurge: By the numbers

Jobs are scarce. The markets are erratic. Even the cost of a turkey dinner has gone up. But Americans are still digging into their pockets and splurging on road trips so they can spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family. Here, a look at the nation's travel plans, by the numbers:

42.5 million

The number of Americans who will travel 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving, according to AAA

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4

Percent increase over last year. That's the biggest jump since the economy tanked in 2008.

90

Percent of Thanksgiving travelers who will drive to their destinations this year

60

Increase, in cents, in the average price of a gallon of gas compared to last Thanksgiving

8

Percent of Thanksgiving travelers who will fly to their destinations

10

Percent of Thanksgiving travelers who flew to their destinations last year

20

Percent increase in airfares nationwide since last Thanksgiving

11

Percent increase since 2010 in roundtrip airfares to the 10 most popular Thanksgiving destinations, according to travel website Orbitz

$373

The average roundtrip airfare this year to those top 10 destinations

5

Percent increase in hotel-room rates in the top 25 destinations, according to TravelClick Inc.

$126.35

Average nightly rate at those hotels

$59

Increase in the amount each Thanksgiving traveler can expect to spend, thanks largely to a jump in transportation costs

Sources: LA Times, MarketWatch, Wash. Post, WTOP