Does Car Dependence Make People Unsatisfied With Life? Evidence From a U.S. National Survey

In the United States (U.S.), cars play a key role in facilitating mobility. Americans heavily rely on their cars for daily travel due to the benefits of access, convenience, comfort, and autonomy that private vehicle travel offers. However, the potential negative implications of high rates of car ownership and use for wellbeing, sustainability, and social equity have sparked the interest of many scholars. We contribute to these lines of inquiry by examining whether and if so, how car dependence relates to people’s satisfaction with life. Our data come from a national survey with a representative sample (n = 2,155) of U.S. adults living in urban and suburban areas. Using descriptive statistics and multivariate regression models, we find that there is a threshold effect of car dependence on life satisfaction. Our results show that beyond a certain point, increases in car dependence yield a decrease in people’s satisfaction with life. For instance, we find that, in a typical week, relying on a car for more than 50 percent of the time for out-of-home activities is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction. These findings suggest that planners and decision-makers should promote multimodality and land use patterns that may help to reduce car dependence and its potential negative effect on subjective wellbeing (SWB).