Fourth of July Travel Survey 2022 — 55%+ (143 Million to Travel), 50%+ Say Gas Prices to Affect Plans, 52%+ to Still Road Trip, 41% Say BBQ Most Likely Activity

2023 Update – See our 2023 Fourth of July Travel Survey & Trends and our 2023 Summer Travel Survey & Trends data for new information.

September 7, 2022 Update – With Fourth of July travel behind us, it is time to move to the 2022 Holiday Travel Season. While our holiday travel survey for this year is still in the works, you can read about the Best & Worst Days to Fly for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2022 now.

Our Summer 2022 Survey indicated that 208 million Americans or 81% of adults will travel this summer. The yearly increase in Memorial Day travel proved that our survey was accurate as vacation levels approach pre-pandemic levels. The Fourth of July is the next big holiday and a large portion of the summer travel season.

We conducted this Fourth of July Survey to see what the travel sentiment will be for the holiday and the holiday weekend. How many people intend to travel for the Fourth of July? What type of transportation will be used? Will high gas prices affect plans? How many people intend to road trip? What activities are people most likely to take part in this year? Below you can find the results and analysis of these questions.

Do you intend to travel for Fourth of July this year or Fourth of July weekend? If so, how?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes, primarily by plane. — 9.13%
• Yes, primarily by car. — 42.62%
• Yes, primarily by public transportation such as bus or train. — 3.69%
• No. — 44.56%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — The likelihood of traveling this Fourth of July decreases significantly with age. The most likely age group to say they will travel for the holiday this year were those aged 18-29. 68.62% of people in this age group said they will. On the other hand, 64.77% in the 30-44 aged crowd said they will. And, 50.55% of American adults aged 45-60 will travel for Fourth of July. Lastly, only 35.96% of people over age 60 will.

Key Takeaway — More than 55% of American adults intend to travel for Fourth of July or Fourth of July weekend this year. The 55.44% equates to 143 million people based on the latest census. This is a nearly 8% increase from the 132 million that said they would travel for Fourth of July in our survey last year. The 9.13% that say they will fly represents nearly 24 million people. This is a 19% decrease or nearly 5 million less when compared to the 11.26% that said they would fly for the Fourth last year.

Will high gas prices affect your Fourth of July travel plans?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes, because I want to drive. — 36.99%
• Yes, because high gas prices are affecting airfare prices. — 13.40%
• No. — 49.61%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — American adults in the Pacific region are most likely to say gas prices will affect their Fourth of July travel plans. This region includes the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, and Hawaii. 55.95% of people from the Pacific region said gas prices will affect them for Fourth of July. This should come as no surprise since the Pacific region contains five of the highest seven gas-priced states according to AAA.

Key Takeaway — More than 50% of all American adults say gas prices will affect their Fourth of July travel plans this year. The 50.39% that say gas prices will affect their plans represents nearly 130 million people. This includes the 95 million that say gas prices will affect their plans because they want to drive. And, it also includes the 35 million people that say high gas prices are affecting airfare prices. As with Memorial Day, these high gas prices likely will not affect the number of people that travel. However, it will impact the amount of vacation expenditures elsewhere.

Will you take a road trip for Fourth of July or Fourth of July weekend this year?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• No. — 47.77%
• Yes, within 100 miles of my home. — 26.50%
• Yes, within 250 miles of my home. — 13.88%
• Yes, within 500 miles of my home. — 7.86%
• Yes, within 1,000 miles of my home. — 2.43%
• Yes, more than 1,000 miles from my home. — 1.55%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Men are more likely than women to take a road trip for Fourth of July or Fourth of July weekend this year. 55.25% of men said they will take a road trip. On the other hand, only 49.64% of women intend to take a road trip for Fourth of July. The youngest generation of American adults aged 18-29 is most likely to take a road trip. Conversely, the oldest generation of those over age 60 is least likely to take a road trip.

Key Takeaway — More than 52% of American adults say they will take a road trip for Fourth of July or Fourth of July weekend. The 52.23% represents nearly 135 million people. Despite high gas prices, people are going to be doing a lot of road-tripping this holiday. In fact, more than 25% or 66 million people intend to road trip more than 100 miles from home. Additionally, 3.98% or 10 million people intend to road trip more than 500 miles from home.

What activity are you most likely to take part in for Fourth of July this year?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Parade.  — 4.17%
• BBQ or Cookout. — 41.07%
• Fireworks. — 30.00%
• Beach. — 11.75%
• Lake. — 7.09%
• Sporting Event. — 2.04%
• Movie Theater. — 3.88%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — The Mountain and New England regions chose fireworks as the activity they are most likely to take part in for Fourth of July. Every other region chose BBQ or cookout. The Mountain region consists of the states Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. 39.68% of their people said fireworks which is significantly above the average. The New England region consists of the states Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 37.50% of New England residents chose fireworks.

Key Takeaway — More than 41% of American adults or 106 million people said a BBQ or cookout is the Fourth of July activity they are most likely to take part in. In second place, was fireworks which was chosen by 30% or more than 77 million people. This is 4.6 times higher than the number of people who chose fireworks in our Memorial Day survey. The third place in our poll was going to the beach which was chosen by 11.75% or 30 million American adults.

Survey Methodology

This 2022 Fourth of July Travel Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 1,030 Americans over the age of 18 were polled on May 1. Of those surveyed, 46.21% were male and 53.79% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 18.25% in the range 18-29, 28.93% in the range 30-44, 35.53% in the range 45-60, and 17.28% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±3.116%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.