Revealing the Most and Least Affordable Airports in North America: 2026 Update

You’ve got two kinds of travelers: the eager gate sprinters and the terminal loungers. Whether you’re racing to make the final boarding call or settling in early for a pre-flight drink, one thing hasn’t changed: airports are still expensive.

With airfare up more than 20% over the past year, travelers are looking for smarter ways to book, save, and plan. We’ve identified the North American airports that hit customers’ wallets the hardest by collecting price data for hotel stays, parking, and a pint of beer (all of your travel essentials).

Key findings:

• John Wayne Airport (SNA) tops the rankings as the most expensive airport overall, with travelers spending an average of $491.80 for a hotel stay, parking, and a pint.
• LaGuardia Airport (LGA) ranks second most expensive, despite dropping one spot from last year, with average costs hitting $381.41.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the cheapest airport overall, with average traveler costs of just $118.47.
• Cancún International Airport (CUN) remains the most expensive airport for a beer, with the average pint priced at $15.01 - 58% above average.
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) pours the cheapest pint, at just $6.46.
• Nashville International Airport (BNA) charges the most for overnight parking at $44, while William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is the cheapest at $16.

Breaking Bank: Revealing the Top 10 Priciest Airports:

Nearly 4 in 10 Americans plan to take more vacations in 2026 than they did last year. With travel demand increasing, we wanted to uncover which airports are most likely to put a serious dent in your vacation budget.

Leading the pack as North America’s most expensive airport is John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, soaring from 20th place in last year’s rankings. With an eye-watering average cost of $491.80 per traveler, it’s more than double the overall average spend.

The main reason SNA claims the top spot is its $460 average nightly hotel rate within a three-mile radius of the airport. While parking and beer prices are reasonable, accommodation costs send the overall total skyrocketing.

Coming in second is New York City’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), which slips from the number one spot in last year’s report. Travelers can expect to spend an average of $370.89 across the three factors analyzed.

Looking to stay nearby? Prepare to splurge, with average hotel prices hitting $318 per night, a huge $143.44 above average. Overnight parking will set travelers back $39, while a pre-flight beer costs an average of $13.89, making LaGuardia the second most expensive airport for a pint in North America.

Rounding out the top three is Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which has climbed dramatically from 49th place in last year’s rankings. While travelers can grab one of the cheaper beers on the list at $7.45, and overnight parking is the cheapest of all 50 airports at just $16, hotel prices are anything but budget-friendly.

With nearby accommodation averaging $342 per night, HOU ranks as the second most expensive airport for hotels. Altogether, travelers face an average spend of $365.45 - and that’s assuming they stop at just one drink.

Wallet-Friendly Airports of North America:

Claiming the crown as North America’s cheapest airport is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), dropping from position 14 last year. Its biggest advantage? Nearby hotel prices average just $71 per night, an impressive $103.56 below the overall average.

Thirsty travelers won’t break the bank either, with beers averaging $8.47, although overnight parking is slightly pricier at $39. Altogether, ATL comes in at just $118.47 per traveler - a wallet-friendly $94.25 below the airport average.

Taking second place is Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina. This budget-friendly airport keeps costs low across the board, with overnight parking at just $18, among the cheapest in the rankings.

Travelers can also expect to pay a modest $7.93 for a beer, while nearby hotels average $93 per night, bringing the total trip cost to just $118.93 before even boarding the plane.

Rounding out the top three is San José Mineta International Airport (SJC), where travelers spend an average of $121.60 per visit. Nearby hotels cost around $90 per night - a huge $84.56 below the overall average and nearly $370 cheaper than John Wayne Airport, the most expensive airport overall.

Its only drawback? Beer prices are slightly steeper than the other budget-friendly airports, averaging $9.60 per pint.

The Most and Least Expensive Airports for a Beer:

After battling through the queues and chaos of check-in, there’s nothing better than a cold, refreshing pre-flight drink. Across the 50 North American airports analyzed this year, the average cost of a beer is $9.48. But travelers will be paying significantly more at Cancún International, where a beer costs a staggering $15.01 on average, followed by New York City’s LaGuardia Airport at $13.89, and San Francisco International at $12.67. Cheers to that, or maybe not at those prices.

For travelers looking for a more affordable airport pint, Salt Lake City International offers the cheapest beer at just $6.46. Portland International follows closely behind at $6.84, while Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental rounds out the top three at $7.38 per beer.

The Most and Least Expensive Airports for a Hotel:

When it comes to nearby hotels, the average nightly rate across all 50 airports is $174.56 - and this year’s rankings have seen some major changes. Overtaking LaGuardia Airport as the most expensive is now John Wayne Airport, where the average hotel stay costs $460 per night. William P. Hobby Airport takes second place at $342, while LaGuardia Airport drops from first to third this year, with an average nightly rate of $318.

At the other end of the scale, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta offers the most budget-friendly hotel stays at just $70 per night, followed by San Jose Mineta at $90 and Raleigh-Durham International at $93.

The Most and Least Expensive Airports for Parking:

Jetting off while leaving your car parked conveniently nearby is every traveler’s dream - but the cost doesn’t always make for a smooth ride. Across all 50 airports, the average overnight parking rate is $28.70.

Nashville International remains the most expensive airport for parking at $44 per day, followed closely by Miami International at $43. San Francisco International and San Diego International share third place, both charging $42 for overnight parking.

On the more affordable side, William P. Hobby Airport offers the cheapest parking at just $16. Cancún International follows at $17.14, while Tampa International and Raleigh-Durham International are tied at $18 each.

Summary: 

Planning a trip often comes with visions of beaches, city breaks, and adventure, not eye-watering airport prices. But before you even board your flight, costs like parking, hotel stays, and even a simple beer can seriously inflate your travel budget. So before you head off on your next trip, it’s worth keeping these often-overlooked travel expenses in mind.

Methodology:

Data collected May 2026.

We used Wikipedia’s list of the 50 busiest North America airports and manually gathered price data for beer pricing, parking and hotels to establish the ranking.

• Prices for beer were gathered from three different drink menus offered by each airport, these were then averaged together. A 20oz Budweiser was used as standard.
• For airport hotels, we used Booking.com. Hotels were filtered by their ‘distance from the airport’ and we averaged the prices of the three closest in proximity.
• Airport parking pricing was gathered from each airport website, where available - economy parking was selected.

Airports were ranked from most to least expensive based on the average cost of a visit to each airport (1 night parking, 1 night hotel and 1 pint of beer).

The data gathered for both hotels and parking were based on the same date during travel summer season to ensure continuity (July 25th – 26th 2026).

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