What does a parking ticket cost in America's 50 biggest cities?

An expired-meter ticket in America's 50 biggest cities costs anywhere from $15 in Jacksonville to $101 in San Francisco's Downtown Core. The median published fine is $42. In 9 of those cities, a late penalty can equal or exceed the original fine.

Those numbers come from Park Graph's open dataset of parking fines, read from each city's own fine schedule and checked November 6, 2026. Every row has a source link. I built the dataset because fine schedules are scattered across city websites, and comparing cities meant reading each one.

How the data works

The dataset covers the 50 largest U.S. cities by 2024 population. For each city it lists common violations: expired meter, street cleaning, no parking zone, fire hydrant, double parking and disabled space. It records the fine, any late penalty and the source.

Not every city publishes every fine. 30 of the 50 publish an expired-meter fine. Some publish more than one, by zone. San Francisco charges $101 in the Downtown Core and $92 elsewhere. That means there is no single fine per city for some violations, so I report the range and the median of the published fines rather than force one number.

Expired meters

The expired meter is the ticket most drivers know. It is also where cities differ most.

San Francisco's $101 Downtown Core fine is the highest. Jacksonville's $15 is the lowest. The median of the 39 published expired-meter fines, from 30 cities with some listed by zone, is $42. A driver who gets a ticket in San Francisco pays more than six times what a driver in Jacksonville pays for the same mistake.

Meter rates do not explain the gap. Chicago's Loop has the highest downtown meter rate, $7.00 an hour. San Francisco's fine is higher than Chicago's anyway. The fine is a separate policy choice.

The fines that cost the most

Safety violations cost more. Portland charges $155 for parking at a fire hydrant, or $205 during events. Arlington, Texas lists $645, including court costs, for parking in a disabled space without a permit, the highest disabled-space amount in the data.

Those fines exist for a reason. A blocked hydrant can slow a fire crew. A taken disabled space can stop someone from getting to work or a doctor.

Late penalties

The late penalty is where a small ticket becomes a big one. In 9 cities, a late penalty can equal or exceed the fine it is added to: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Omaha, Raleigh, Virginia Beach and Washington.

Omaha is the sharpest example. A $16 ticket gets a $20 late penalty after 30 days. That is 125% of the original fine. Los Angeles and Chicago double some tickets when they go unpaid.

For a driver who missed the ticket under a wiper, or who moved and never got the notice, the late fee can be the larger part of the bill.

Why the price is hard to see

A driver sees the meter rate. Sometimes they see the app fee, which has a median of $0.35 per session across 312 places. The fine schedule and the late penalty are usually on a separate city page.

I think the full price of parking includes all four numbers: the rate, the app fee, the fine and the late penalty. A city that publishes them together makes it easier for drivers to follow the rules and easier for reporters to check the city.

What drivers can do

Pay attention to zones. In cities with zone-based fines, the same mistake costs more downtown.

Pay or contest quickly. A late penalty applies only after the deadline passes.

Read the sign twice. Time limits, street-cleaning hours and permit zones can bring a ticket that has nothing to do with the meter.

Keep your receipt. If you paid through an app or a QR code and still got a ticket, the receipt is your evidence. If the code was fake, report it to the city and the operator.

Check the address. Make sure the city has your current mailing address on your registration so the notice reaches you before the late fee does.

What cities can do

Publish the full schedule in one place, including late penalties and the days before they apply. Show the fine on the meter or the payment screen. Send notices by text or email where the law allows.

Enforcement works better when drivers know the rules before they break them.

Using the data

The full dataset, with a source link on every row, is on the Research and Data page as a CSV under CC BY 4.0. If you are a reporter, start with your own city: the meter rate, the app fee, the expired-meter fine and the late penalty, side by side. Readers will recognize the numbers on their windshields.