The Cities Where Flight Prices Have Surged the Most This Year

CheapAir.com just released data from its latest airfare study.

If you've tried booking flights for summer travel this year, we know the financial pain you're going through. With travel in full swing after the peak of the pandemic, prices dramatically increased too—and travelers are doing the best they can to save a few bucks. (Psst, we might be able to help on that, just head over to our monthly deals story, which is regularly updated).

It might also be helpful to know that, depending on where you're flying from, flights have surged more than other places. CheapAir.com just published its year-over-year airfare study for 2023, where it analyzed 128 million airfares in different cities across the US. By looking at data, the team managed to come up with a ranking showing where flight prices have increased the most, and by how much. No matter where you live or are flying from, nobody seems to be safe, though—on average, according to the study, airfares have spiked 17% compared to last year.

The smaller the city, the steeper the increase—or so it seems. The study found that smaller cities occupy the top five airports with the largest airfare growth, percentage-wise. However, there is a reason for that. Smaller cities usually offer fewer flights on fewer airlines compared to larger cities, and less competition and fewer options typically means higher prices.

Take a look at the top 10 US cities with the largest fare spikes in 2023 below:

1. Flint, Michigan: 35% increase in airfare
2. Akron, Ohio: 32% increase in airfare
3. Dayton, Ohio: 30% increase in airfare
4. Greensboro, North Carolina: 28% increase in airfare
5. Tucson, Arizona: 25% increase in airfare
6. Burbank, California: 24% increase in airfare
7. Miami, Florida: 23% increase in airfare
8. San Juan, Puerto Rico: 23% increase in airfare
9. Fort Myers, Florida: 22% increase in airfare
10. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 22% increase in airfare

To save money if you live in any of these markets, CheapAir.com suggests booking your travel early (roughly 70 days before your flight) and considering flying from a larger nearby airport (i.e. O'Hare over Milwaukee Mitchell).

For more information, and to read the complete ranking, you can visit CheapAir.com.

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Serena Tara is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.