Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, puts the Iran war’s estimated burden at nearly $2,000 for each U.S. household, or about $265 billion nationwide.
The largest share is the roughly $1,100 Zandi assigned to energy and transportation; he put the interest-rate effect at $540 and military spending at $360 per household. Read as rounded estimates, the three categories come to $2,000; Zandi described the overall figure as nearly that amount.
Energy and transportation were the largest category. Zandi said that portion was increasing by about $50 per household each week at the fuel prices then in effect.
The estimate includes household expenses alongside military spending; it does not measure federal outlays alone. In an Oct. 12 post on X, Zandi said the combined burden was equivalent to about half the average U.S. household’s income gains over the previous eight months.
