Is car dependency and urban sprawl thought to be a major contributor to poor economic conditions in the US?

Hello all!

I've heard many claims from urbanists that car dependency leads to increased tax burdens and significant negative externalities when compared to walking, biking, and transit. Some of these include the costs of maintaining car infrastructure, misuse of prime urban real estate for surface-level parking, worse health outcomes from the sedentary life that car culture enables, the cost of owning/insuring a car, and myriad other claims.

I would like to know to what extent these claims are true and if economists have estimated how much money/time the average person could save by living in a place that allows them to be car-lite or car-free.

I know it's probably a complicated question, because the housing in more walkable/bikeable places is typically more expensive, and probably also depends on which metro area a person currently lives in.

TLDR: Would the average American be financially better off if they relocated to a dense neighborhood and became car-lite/free?