The impact of perceived income level on commuting time: Evidence from Shanghai, China

•This study investigates how perceived income level affects commuting time.•Empirical results provide evidence of the distinct effects of perceived and actual income level on commuting time.•Perceived income level has a negative effect on commuting time, reflecting the matching effect between the perception on socioeconomic status and commuting time.•In addition to those with low actual income levels, future policymaking should account for the commuting needs of individuals among them who perceive their income to be at a low level in society. Although a large number of studies have found that actual income level significantly affects individuals’ commuting time, from the perspective of bounded rationality, the formation of commuting time is inevitably influenced by individuals’ perceived socioeconomic status. However, there are few empirical studies on how perceived income level, which better measures an individual’s socioeconomic status based on social comparison, affects commuting time. Using a path analysis on a 2020 dataset of Shanghai, China, this study investigates the effect of perceived income level on commuting time, and compares it with the effect of actual income level. Empirical results indicate that actual income level positively impacts perceived income level, and both significantly influence commuting time through the job-housing relationship. However, perceived income level has a negative effect on commuting time, reflecting the matching effect between the perception on socioeconomic status and commuting time. Actual income level has a positive effect on commuting time, supporting the compensation effect between objective income level and commuting time. Nevertheless, under urban development and renewal processes, individuals with lower actual incomes might extend their commuting times and resign themselves to commuting inequality due to the influence of perceived income levels. This study provides a new framework for understanding commuting inequality from an income perspective, and offers insights for optimizing commuting time through urban planning.