Airfares rose almost everywhere in the U.S. this year, according to the latest government ticket data. In each of the 50 busiest metro areas, the average domestic fare was higher from April to June 2026 than in the same months a year earlier. Detroit rose the most, nearly 25%, followed by Las Vegas at 24%. Even the smallest increases, in San Diego and Omaha, Nebraska, were close to 10%.

Nationally, the average one-way fare climbed from $241 to $279, a 16% increase, or $38 more each way. Overall inflation over the same period was 3.9%.

An analysis by Engine, a business travel platform, compared fares on the same 6,694 city pairs in both years using U.S. Department of Transportation ticket data. Fares rose on 89% of them.

Below, Engine reports on how fares have increased across the 50 biggest U.S. metros.

Spirit’s shutdown explains about 1 point of the 16%

Spirit Airlines stopped flying on May 2, and much of the coverage since has treated its exit as the reason flights cost more. On its old routes, the average fare paid did jump. Where Spirit had at least 40% of passengers in March and April, the average fare paid rose 35% in May and June as its cheaper tickets disappeared from the mix. On average, fares at the airlines that kept flying those routes were essentially flat, down 1.4% from March and April to May and June when each airline is compared with itself on the same route.

But those routes are a small share of all flying. City pairs where Spirit was the cheapest airline in spring 2025 carried about 15% of passengers. On the other 85%, fares rose 15% anyway. Spirit’s exit accounts for about one percentage point of the national 16%, and with its city pairs removed entirely, all 50 metros still rose, from 9% in Chicago to 21% in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Jet fuel costs climbed at the same time. U.S. carriers paid $4.11 a gallon in April 2026, compared with $2.31 a year earlier, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics figures reported by the Associated Press. The bureau's own national fare figure, which counts a round trip as a single fare, rose from $386 in the second quarter of 2025 to $445 in the second quarter of 2026, the highest second-quarter fare it has recorded before adjusting for inflation. Adjusted for inflation, the average one-way fare for April to June 2026 was the highest since spring 2022.

Where airfares rose the most

The 50 busiest U.S. metro areas are ranked by the change in average one-way fare from April to June 2025 to the same months of 2026, weighted by how many people fly each city pair. Metro areas include all of their airports, so Miami includes Fort Lauderdale, and New York City includes Newark.

1. Detroit: +24.6% ($246 to $306)
2. Las Vegas: +23.7% ($216 to $267)
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul: +21.7% ($239 to $291)
4. Los Angeles: +20.9% ($252 to $305)
5. Charlotte, North Carolina: +19.4% ($256 to $305)
6. New Orleans: +19.0% ($228 to $271)
7. San Francisco: +18.7% ($260 to $308)
8. Indianapolis: +18.4% ($243 to $287)
9. Atlanta: +18.4% ($243 to $288)
10. Washington, D.C.: +18.2% ($243 to $287)
11. San Antonio: +18.2% ($257 to $303)
12. Memphis, Tennessee: +18.2% ($255 to $302)
13. Tampa, Florida: +17.9% ($201 to $238)
14. Richmond, Virginia: +17.9% ($246 to $290)
15. Fort Myers, Florida: +17.7% ($231 to $271)
16. Dallas-Fort Worth: +17.6% ($243 to $286)
17. Hartford, Connecticut: +17.2% ($238 to $279)
18. Cincinnati: +16.8% ($227 to $265)
19. Milwaukee: +16.8% ($253 to $296)
20. Denver: +16.7% ($218 to $255)
21. Columbus, Ohio: +16.6% ($236 to $276)
22. Houston: +16.6% ($242 to $282)
23. Pittsburgh: +16.5% ($232 to $270)
24. Miami: +16.3% ($221 to $257)
25. Nashville, Tennessee: +16.2% ($234 to $272)
26. Orlando, Florida: +15.9% ($206 to $239)
27. Boston: +15.8% ($247 to $286)
28. Boise, Idaho: +15.7% ($232 to $269)
29. Philadelphia: +15.2% ($256 to $295)
30. Charleston, South Carolina: +15.2% ($233 to $268)
31. Kansas City, Missouri: +15.1% ($257 to $296)
32. St. Louis: +15.1% ($247 to $285)
33. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina: +14.8% ($221 to $253)
34. Sacramento, California: +14.7% ($235 to $269)
35. Salt Lake City: +14.6% ($270 to $309)
36. Buffalo, New York: +14.6% ($213 to $244)
37. Norfolk, Virginia: +14.3% ($248 to $283)
38. Phoenix: +13.7% ($231 to $262)
39. New York City: +13.5% ($260 to $295)
40. West Palm Beach, Florida: +13.2% ($242 to $274)
41. Albuquerque, New Mexico: +12.9% ($252 to $284)
42. Austin, Texas: +12.4% ($247 to $278)
43. Jacksonville, Florida: +12.1% ($254 to $285)
44. Portland, Oregon: +11.9% ($235 to $263)
45. Savannah, Georgia: +11.7% ($252 to $281)
46. Seattle: +11.3% ($251 to $279)
47. Cleveland: +11.1% ($221 to $246)
48. Chicago: +10.3% ($224 to $247)
49. Omaha, Nebraska: +9.8% ($266 to $292)
50. San Diego: +9.7% ($239 to $262)

Detroit’s average fare rose $60 each way, from $246 to $306, the largest dollar increase of any metro on the list. Detroit and Las Vegas also relied on Spirit more than any other major metro: 58% of Detroit’s 2025 passengers and 50% of Las Vegas’s flew city pairs where Spirit was the cheapest airline. Without those city pairs, fares still rose 21% in Detroit and 19% in Las Vegas.

At the other end, fares out of Chicago, Omaha and San Diego rose about 10%, or $23 to $26 each way.

Some city pairs got cheaper

Not every trip costs more. Average fares fell on 735 of the 6,694 city pairs, about 1 in 9. Among city pairs averaging at least 500 passengers a day, fares between Philadelphia and Seattle and between Austin, Texas, and San Francisco each fell 10%. Fares between Salt Lake City and San Diego and between Chicago and San Diego each fell 9%.

For travelers in the five metros at the top of the list, the increase works out to about $50 to $60 more each way, or $100 to $120 on a round trip, before bag and seat fees. In the metros at the bottom, it is closer to $25 each way.

Methodology

Engine analyzed public U.S. Department of Transportation data. Fares for April to June 2025 come from the Domestic Airfare Consumer Report. Fares for April to June 2026 were calculated from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' 40% sample of airline tickets on the same city pairs, using the report's method, and calibrated to the report's January to March 2026 edition. The 2025 report used DOT's earlier 10% sample. Fares include taxes and fees but not optional extras such as bags or seats. Round trips were halved to a one-way fare, and one-way fares under $50 were excluded. Metro figures are weighted by 2025 passengers. Spirit route figures compare March and April 2026 with May and June 2026 on nonstop routes with at least 2,000 sampled tickets, using tickets of $25 or more. Fares reflect what travelers paid across all airlines and ticket sellers. The analysis does not use Engine booking data.

This story was produced by Engine and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.