Data study · updated September 16, 2026
The Cheapest Month to Fly from Each US Hub
We took the lowest recorded fare for every month on 3,832 routes out of US airports and averaged them by departure city. The result is a cheapest month, a priciest month, and the gap between them, for 110 cities.
Most common cheapest month
Oct
Cheapest at 32 of 110 cities
Typical seasonal gap
54%
Average difference between cheapest and priciest month
Routes analyzed
3,832
With at least three months of fare history
What the data shows
Across US hubs the cheapest months cluster in Oct and the shoulder seasons, and the most expensive month is almost always in the summer or December holiday window. The gap between the two averages 54 percent, which on a typical fare is the difference between a cheap weekend and staying home.
Method: for each route we record the lowest one-way fare seen for each departure month in cached search data. For each city we average those monthly lows across its routes, then pick the highest and lowest month. Fares are recorded lows rather than live quotes, and cities with fewer than five routes of monthly history are excluded.
City by city
| City | Cheapest | Priciest | Gap | Avg monthly low | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York NYC | Oct | Aug | 69% | $685 | 154 |
| Chicago CHI | Feb | Aug | 51% | $571 | 128 |
| Los Angeles LAX | Oct | Aug | 87% | $797 | 122 |
| Houston HOU | Sep | Jun | 58% | $656 | 108 |
| Atlanta ATL | Oct | Aug | 71% | $656 | 105 |
| Washington, D.C. WAS | Nov | Jul | 60% | $693 | 105 |
| San Francisco SFO | Oct | Jun | 57% | $667 | 103 |
| Boston BOS | Jan | Jun | 56% | $623 | 102 |
| Seattle SEA | May | Aug | 53% | $649 | 97 |
| Denver DEN | Jan | Jun | 53% | $349 | 68 |
| Minneapolis MSP | Apr | Feb | 39% | $418 | 57 |
| Raleigh-Durham RDU | Dec | Sep | 44% | $326 | 55 |
| Detroit DTW | Dec | Jan | 56% | $396 | 49 |
| Salt Lake City SLC | Oct | May | 54% | $440 | 47 |
| Cincinnati CVG | Nov | May | 66% | $444 | 45 |
| Dallas DFW | Sep | Dec | 47% | $573 | 104 |
| Miami MIA | Oct | Jul | 57% | $656 | 91 |
| Fort Lauderdale FLL | Oct | Jun | 79% | $721 | 88 |
| Tampa TPA | Oct | Jun | 78% | $542 | 74 |
| Phoenix PHX | Nov | Mar | 53% | $427 | 74 |
| Orlando MCO | Oct | Mar | 56% | $462 | 70 |
| Baltimore BWI | Oct | Jun | 62% | $721 | 64 |
| Philadelphia PHL | May | Apr | 62% | $432 | 62 |
| San Jose SJC | Apr | Jun | 62% | $813 | 54 |
| San Diego SAN | May | Mar | 53% | $425 | 53 |
| Austin AUS | Feb | Aug | 63% | $545 | 53 |
| Las Vegas LAS | Jul | May | 75% | $527 | 52 |
| Charlotte CLT | Feb | Dec | 62% | $619 | 50 |
| Nashville BNA | May | Jul | 65% | $491 | 48 |
| Oakland OAK | Jan | Feb | 68% | $682 | 47 |
| San Juan SJU | Mar | Aug | 62% | $388 | 45 |
| Jacksonville JAX | Oct | Dec | 52% | $467 | 43 |
| Portland PDX | Feb | Jan | 83% | $389 | 39 |
| St. Louis STL | Apr | Jun | 78% | $522 | 37 |
| Sacramento SMF | Oct | May | 60% | $554 | 37 |
| Cleveland CLE | Dec | Aug | 70% | $457 | 36 |
| Indianapolis IND | Nov | Jan | 66% | $460 | 36 |
| Pittsburgh PIT | Jan | Aug | 55% | $445 | 35 |
| Columbus CMH | Oct | Jun | 66% | $526 | 35 |
| New Orleans MSY | Mar | Jul | 80% | $505 | 27 |
| San Antonio SAT | Nov | Apr | 62% | $455 | 27 |
| Honolulu HNL | Jun | Jan | 44% | $501 | 26 |
| Kansas City MCI | Feb | Aug | 46% | $417 | 25 |
| West Palm Beach PBI | Oct | Jan | 66% | $466 | 25 |
| Fort Myers RSW | Nov | Jan | 41% | $372 | 17 |
| Milwaukee MKE | May | Mar | 54% | $425 | 14 |
| Vancouver YVR | Jan | May | 67% | $314 | 13 |
| Toronto YYZ | Jun | Dec | 57% | $348 | 11 |
| Calgary YYC | Jan | Dec | 54% | $359 | 11 |
| Montreal YUL | Dec | May | 53% | $413 | 10 |
| Ontario ONT | Oct | Jun | 48% | $420 | 51 |
| Orange County SNA | Jan | Mar | 51% | $628 | 40 |
| Burbank BUR | Oct | Dec | 33% | $531 | 39 |
| Richmond RIC | Jan | Nov | 58% | $421 | 23 |
| Norfolk ORF | Nov | Feb | 31% | $372 | 23 |
| Hartford BDL | Jan | Dec | 62% | $431 | 19 |
| Anchorage ANC | May | Sep | 69% | $656 | 19 |
| Providence PVD | Nov | Dec | 60% | $521 | 17 |
| Memphis MEM | Oct | Nov | 37% | $386 | 17 |
| Grand Rapids GRR | Oct | Jan | 32% | $397 | 16 |
| Buffalo BUF | Mar | Nov | 41% | $377 | 15 |
| Tucson TUS | Oct | Sep | 29% | $478 | 15 |
| Louisville SDF | Nov | Mar | 60% | $342 | 14 |
| Reno RNO | Dec | Nov | 55% | $358 | 14 |
| Fresno FAT | Dec | Sep | 61% | $293 | 14 |
| Oklahoma City OKC | Oct | Jun | 38% | $420 | 13 |
| Syracuse SYR | Nov | Sep | 39% | $348 | 12 |
| El Paso ELP | Nov | Dec | 57% | $463 | 12 |
| Pensacola PNS | Dec | Jun | 58% | $318 | 12 |
| Sarasota SRQ | Nov | Dec | 51% | $401 | 11 |
| Albany ALB | Oct | Nov | 54% | $471 | 10 |
| Charleston CHS | Nov | Sep | 57% | $302 | 10 |
| Savannah SAV | Oct | Sep | 60% | $451 | 10 |
| Knoxville TYS | Jan | Nov | 32% | $278 | 10 |
| Boise BOI | Sep | Oct | 61% | $345 | 10 |
| Spokane GEG | Oct | Sep | 48% | $339 | 10 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg GSP | Oct | Nov | 34% | $389 | 9 |
| Madison MSN | May | Dec | 63% | $500 | 9 |
| Albuquerque ABQ | Oct | Sep | 12% | $391 | 9 |
| Panama City Beach ECP | Sep | Dec | 25% | $427 | 9 |
| Little Rock LIT | Sep | Feb | 34% | $376 | 8 |
| Tulsa TUL | Oct | Dec | 49% | $425 | 8 |
| Rochester ROC | Oct | Nov | 51% | $440 | 7 |
| Myrtle Beach MYR | Nov | Oct | 41% | $336 | 7 |
| Omaha OMA | Nov | Feb | 40% | $510 | 7 |
| Des Moines DSM | Oct | Dec | 66% | $550 | 7 |
| Wichita ICT | Nov | Sep | 46% | $390 | 7 |
| Greensboro GSO | Feb | Sep | 32% | $341 | 6 |
| Birmingham BHM | Dec | Sep | 41% | $504 | 6 |
| Manchester MHT | Nov | Sep | 43% | $345 | 5 |
| Newburgh SWF | Apr | Mar | 46% | $419 | 26 |
| Long Beach LGB | Jan | Jun | 32% | $493 | 21 |
| St. Petersburg-Clearwater PIE | Dec | Mar | 66% | $516 | 15 |
| Rockford RFD | Jan | Dec | 60% | $531 | 15 |
| Trenton TTN | Dec | Nov | 28% | $383 | 13 |
| Colorado Springs COS | Oct | Dec | 54% | $447 | 9 |
| Orlando Sanford SFB | Nov | Oct | 49% | $523 | 9 |
| Destin-Fort Walton Beach VPS | Nov | Oct | 44% | $392 | 8 |
| Islip ISP | Sep | Dec | 58% | $437 | 8 |
| Westchester HPN | Sep | Dec | 64% | $587 | 7 |
| Charlottesville CHO | Sep | Nov | 55% | $502 | 7 |
| Everett PAE | Sep | May | 59% | $504 | 7 |
| St. Thomas STT | Oct | Sep | 69% | $651 | 7 |
| Fort Wayne FWA | Dec | Oct | 41% | $301 | 6 |
| Cedar Rapids CID | Dec | Sep | 47% | $381 | 6 |
| Wilmington ILM | Oct | Nov | 48% | $561 | 6 |
| McAllen MFE | Dec | Feb | 52% | $341 | 6 |
| South Bend SBN | Nov | Dec | 56% | $396 | 5 |
| Traverse City TVC | Oct | Sep | 75% | $741 | 5 |
| Sioux Falls FSD | Sep | Mar | 53% | $390 | 5 |
Examples by city
New York: cheapest in Oct
- to NashvilleMar · $227
- to AtlantaNov · $229
- to ClevelandDec · $234
- to BostonOct · $249
Chicago: cheapest in Feb
- to AtlantaNov · $115
- to BostonOct · $145
- to BaltimoreOct · $155
- to ClevelandOct · $245
Los Angeles: cheapest in Oct
- to AtlantaOct · $145
- to AustinOct · $196
- to NashvilleNov · $219
- to BaltimoreOct · $258
Houston: cheapest in Sep
- to AtlantaNov · $78
- to BaltimoreNov · $129
- to ClevelandSep · $171
- to NashvilleOct · $232
Atlanta: cheapest in Oct
- to DallasNov · $44
- to BaltimoreNov · $90
- to Washington, D.C.Oct · $112
- to AustinDec · $144
Washington, D.C.: cheapest in Nov
- to AtlantaNov · $98
- to CharlotteOct · $236
- to AustinOct · $282
- to BostonSep · $293
San Francisco: cheapest in Oct
- to AtlantaNov · $151
- to AustinDec · $162
- to BaltimoreOct · $316
- to ClevelandOct · $320
Boston: cheapest in Jan
- to BaltimoreDec · $146
- to ClevelandNov · $202
- to AtlantaSep · $258
- to ColumbusDec · $263
Seattle: cheapest in May
- to NashvilleJan · $210
- to AustinOct · $252
- to AtlantaNov · $291
- to BaltimoreOct · $331
Denver: cheapest in Jan
- to BostonNov · $170
- to AtlantaOct · $172
- to ColumbusOct · $182
- to BaltimoreOct · $207
Minneapolis: cheapest in Apr
- to CharlotteOct · $192
- to AtlantaSep · $219
- to NashvilleOct · $258
- to BostonOct · $353
Raleigh-Durham: cheapest in Dec
- to BaltimoreOct · $111
- to DallasDec · $178
- to BostonNov · $237
- to NashvilleNov · $304
Use the cheap month, book by phone
Tell the agent your dates are flexible and they will find the lowest day in the cheapest month for your route.
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