Full-coverage car insurance costs the average American $1,730 per year, or a little more than $144,000 per year. If you think this rate is a bit high, you should know that drivers can use discounts to lower their rates.
What Makes the Average Cost of Car Insurance Change?
Premiums for car insurance vary a lot based on the following:
Credit score: In most states, people with bad credit pay more for car insurance.
Amount of the deductible: If your car insurance deductible is high, your rates will likely be lower.
Coverage limits: The cost of full coverage on a car insurance policy is much higher than the cost of just the state minimum coverage.
Driving record: Most drivers pay much more if they have gotten a DUI, a speeding ticket, or were at fault in an accident.
Options for bundling: If you bundle your auto insurance with other types of insurance, like renters or homeowners insurance, you may get a better deal.
Age, gender, and marital status: Young drivers, single drivers, and male drivers tend to pay more than older drivers, married drivers, and female drivers.
Location: Insurance quotes are usually higher for drivers who live in states with strict coverage requirements or in areas with a lot of thefts, accidents, and drivers who don’t have insurance.
Make, model, and age of the car: Replacement parts for older models may be cheaper, but they may not have the latest safety features. Policies for cars with low safety ratings tend to be more expensive. The Toyota Corolla and Ram 1500 are usually expensive to insure, but the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape have some of the lowest rates.
It costs more for car insurance that covers more than the state minimums for bodily injury liability and property damage liability. But drivers are strongly encouraged to add the following types of coverage to reduce costs and stress after an accident:
Accident insurance
Full coverage insurance
Coverage for uninsured drivers
Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance or medical payments coverage (MedPay)
Since car insurance companies base their rates on a lot of different factors, it’s hard to know what your costs might be without getting quotes from different companies. You can figure out how much you might spend by using online quote calculators.
Cost of car insurance on average by state
Because each state sets its own minimum requirements for auto insurance coverage, where you live has a big impact on how much you’ll pay for coverage.
Find out how much car insurance costs on average in each state in the United States. Note that these numbers are for a 35-year-old driver with a clean driving record and good credit who wants full coverage car insurance.
| State | Average Monthly Cost of Car Insurance | Average Annual Cost of Car Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $123 | $1,479 |
| Alaska | $117 | $1,400 |
| Arizona | $146 | $1,754 |
The states where car insurance costs the least
The following states tend to have the nation’s lowest average cost of full-coverage car insurance:
- Maine: $964 per year
- Ohio: $1,027 per year
- Vermont: $1,056 per year
- Idaho: $1,069 per year
- Virginia: $1,142 per year
- Iowa: $1,181 per year
- Wisconsin: $1,219 per year
- Tennessee: $1,281 per year
- Indiana: $1,332 per year
- Oregon: $1,334 per year
States With the Highest Average Cost of Car Insurance
The states below often have the highest average cost of full-coverage car insurance in the U.S.:
- Michigan: $3,785 per year
- Connecticut: $2,999 per year
- Florida: $2,947 per year
- New York: $2,783 per year
- Louisiana: $2,783 per year
- Massachusetts: $2,647 per year
- Delaware: $2,169 per year
- Nevada: $2,149 per year
- California: $2,089 per year
- New Jersey: $2,037 per year
Average Car Insurance Costs by Company
Full-coverage policies from different auto insurance companies don’t have the same premiums, either. If you’re a driver looking for cheap car insurance, check out the companies below. All of them have annual rates that are less than the national average of $1,730:
| State | Cheapest Car Insurance Provider | Average Annual Cost of Car Insurance |
| Alabama | USAA | $987 |
| Alaska | USAA | $949 |
| Arizona | GEICO | $1,071 |
| Arkansas | USAA | $933 |
| California | USAA | $1,408 |
| Colorado | GEICO | $1,119 |
| Connecticut | GEICO | $891 |
| Delaware | USAA | $1,240 |
| District of Columbia | GEICO | $939 |
| Florida | GEICO | $1,937 |
| Georgia | GEICO | $1,238 |
| Hawaii | USAA | $1,006 |
| Idaho | USAA | $648 |
| Illinois | Country Financial | $994 |
| Indiana | GEICO | $806 |
| Iowa | State Farm | $843 |
| Kansas | USAA | $843 |
| Kentucky | GEICO | $1,127 |
| Louisiana | USAA | $1,576 |
| Maine | Auto-Owners Insurance | $557 |
| Maryland | USAA | $920 |
| Massachusetts | Progressive | $1,922 |
| Michigan | Progressive | $1,530 |
| Minnesota | USAA | $1,060 |
| Mississippi | USAA | $860 |
| Missouri | USAA | $758 |
| Montana | USAA | $865 |
| Nebraska | USAA | $1,044 |
| Nevada | USAA | $1,239 |
| New Hampshire | USAA | $714 |
| New Jersey | GEICO | $1,359 |
| New Mexico | USAA | $882 |
| New York | Progressive | $1,300 |
| North Carolina | Nationwide | $968 |
| North Dakota | USAA | $762 |
| Ohio | Grange Insurance | $738 |
| Oklahoma | USAA | $953 |
| Oregon | USAA | $945 |
| Pennsylvania | Nationwide | $1,107 |
| Rhode Island | USAA | $918 |
| South Carolina | American National | $678 |
| South Dakota | USAA | $1,196 |
| Tennessee | USAA | $797 |
| Texas | Texas Farm Bureau | $1,013 |
| Utah | USAA | $896 |
| Vermont | USAA | $724 |
| Virginia | USAA | $824 |
| Washington | USAA | $813 |
| West Virginia | USAA | $870 |
| Wisconsin | GEICO | $738 |
| Wyoming | American National | $877 |
Remember that USAA is only for members of the military, veterans, and their families. Those who don’t qualify for the provider’s coverage are likely to find competitive rates from other top car insurance companies like State Farm, GEICO, and Progressive.
Average Cost of Car Insurance by Driver Profile
Your car insurance rates will depend a lot on how well you drive and how good your credit is. We’ll talk about the average rates for different types of drivers so you can get a better idea of how much you might pay.