RideWise Research
The Rideshare Price Index 2026
How much a standard UberX ride actually costs across 26 US metros — ranked most to least expensive — plus the airport pickup fees that quietly tax every rideshare trip. Built from RideWise's first-party 2026 rate model. Free to cite.
By Vincent Ruan, RideWise · Published July 7, 2026
Key findings
- A standard 5-mile, 15-minute UberX ride ranges from $11.20 in San Antonio to $19.30 in New York City — a 1.7× difference for the same trip.
- UberX per-mile rates run from $1.05/mile in San Antonio to $1.75/mile in New York City.
- Airport pickup fees add a hidden $2.50–$6.00 to every rideshare trip, with SEA charging the most at $6.00.
UberX cost by city (5-mile ride, ranked)
Estimated non-surge UberX fare for a standard 5-mile, 15-minute ride, most to least expensive.
| # | Metro | Est. UberX (5 mi) | Base fare | Per mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | $19.30 | $2.55 | $1.75 |
| 2 | San Francisco | $16.90 | $2.20 | $1.55 |
| 3 | Boston | $16.30 | $2.00 | $1.48 |
| 4 | San Diego | $16.00 | $1.10 | $1.28 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $15.65 | $1.85 | $1.45 |
| 6 | Seattle | $15.15 | $1.80 | $1.40 |
| 7 | Chicago | $14.95 | $1.70 | $1.35 |
| 8 | Philadelphia | $14.85 | $1.75 | $1.38 |
| 9 | Los Angeles | $14.60 | $1.65 | $1.35 |
| 10 | Portland | $14.05 | $1.60 | $1.30 |
| 11 | Las Vegas | $13.95 | $1.55 | $1.28 |
| 12 | Austin | $13.30 | $1.45 | $1.22 |
| 13 | Miami | $13.00 | $1.50 | $1.20 |
| 14 | Minneapolis | $12.95 | $1.48 | $1.18 |
| 15 | Charlotte | $12.94 | $1.44 | $1.24 |
| 16 | Columbus | $12.90 | $1.20 | $1.12 |
| 17 | Denver | $12.65 | $1.45 | $1.15 |
| 18 | Nashville | $12.57 | $1.42 | $1.15 |
| 19 | Atlanta | $12.30 | $1.40 | $1.12 |
| 20 | Houston | $12.30 | $1.30 | $1.18 |
| 21 | New Orleans | $12.11 | $1.38 | $1.10 |
| 22 | Dallas–Fort Worth | $11.95 | $1.35 | $1.10 |
| 23 | Orlando | $11.93 | $1.35 | $1.10 |
| 24 | Phoenix | $11.80 | $1.35 | $1.08 |
| 25 | Indianapolis | $11.62 | $1.32 | $1.08 |
| 26 | San Antonio | $11.20 | $1.25 | $1.05 |
The airport “rideshare tax”: pickup fees ranked
Every major airport adds a per-trip rideshare pickup fee on top of the fare, set by the airport authority. Here they are ranked highest to lowest for the 20 busiest US airports.
| Airport | Pickup fee | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| SEA | $6.00 | Port of Seattle |
| MCO | $5.80 | Greater Orlando Aviation Authority |
| SFO | $5.50 | San Francisco International Airport |
| ORD | $5.00 | Chicago Department of Aviation |
| IAD | $5.00 | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) |
| IAH | $4.25 | Houston Airport System |
| LAX | $4.00 | Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) |
| DFW | $4.00 | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport |
| PHX | $4.00 | City of Phoenix Aviation Department |
| DTW | $4.00 | Wayne County Airport Authority |
| JFK | $3.50 | Port Authority of NY & NJ |
| EWR | $3.50 | Port Authority of NY & NJ |
| LGA | $3.50 | Port Authority of NY & NJ |
| BOS | $3.25 | Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) |
| ATL | $3.00 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport |
| DEN | $3.00 | Denver International Airport |
| MIA | $3.00 | Miami-Dade Aviation Department |
| MSP | $3.00 | Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) |
| SAN | $3.00 | San Diego County Regional Airport Authority |
| LAS | $2.50 | Clark County Department of Aviation |
Is Uber or Lyft cheaper? Neither, consistently
RideWise models standard Lyft as a small, market-consistent delta off the local UberX rate card, so we deliberately do not publish a “Lyft is cheaper in X% of cities” headline — that would reflect our model, not the market. The best independent evidence is the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School / NBER study (Working Paper 34441, November 2025), which audited 2,238 identical Uber-and-Lyft rides in New York City and found their prices differ by about 14% on average (roughly $3.50 per trip), with neither app consistently cheaper. The reliable move is to compare both for your exact trip — which is exactly what the RideWise compare tool does.
Methodology & data
Fares are estimated from RideWise's 2026 rate model: per-city base fare, per-mile rate, per-minute rate, and booking fee applied to a standard 5-mile, 15-minute non-surge trip. Rate cards are compiled from Uber and Lyft published pricing and cross-referenced against independent pricing research; airport pickup fees are sourced from each airport authority. These are estimates, not live quotes — real upfront prices vary with demand (surge), traffic, tolls, and exact route. See our full methodology.
The complete machine-readable dataset (27 US metro regions × Uber/Lyft/taxi service tiers) is open: download the rate-card CSV.
Cite this research
Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite or reproduce these findings with attribution to RideWise. Copy the attribution below:
<a href="https://getridewise.com/research/rideshare-price-index">RideWise Rideshare Price Index 2026</a>
For data requests, methodology questions, or interviews, contact RideWise.
Want the number for your own trip? Use the Uber fare estimate calculator, the Lyft fare calculator, or compare both on your route with the side-by-side compare tool.