Most, Least Expensive States to Own a Car

Insurance Journal Article August 2013

Georgia is the most expensive state to operate a motor vehicle and Oregon is the cheapest, according to a Bankrate.com report that considers the costs of gasoline, insurance, repairs, taxes and fees.

In Georgia, a typical driver spends $4,233 per year to operate his or her vehicle. That is almost double the cost in Oregon ($2,204). The national average is $3,201.

Georgians spend a lot of time in their cars thanks in part to Atlanta’s sprawling communities and a lack of public transportation. Those long commutes lead to above-average gasoline costs and insurance rates. Georgia also has the highest state automobile taxes and fees in the nation.

Oregonians benefit from the absence of a state sales tax as well as relatively low car insurance costs. Plus, the typical Beaver State resident drives 16 percent fewer miles than the national average.

California ($3,966), Wyoming ($3,938), Rhode Island ($3,913) and Nevada ($3,886) round out the five most expensive states.

Alaska ($2,227), South Dakota ($2,343), Montana ($2,660) and Indiana ($2,698) join Oregon among the five cheapest states.

For every state, Bankrate determined total car-ownership costs using median insurance premiums provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, average repair costs from CarMD.com and average automobile taxes and fees from Kelley Blue Book. Bankrate estimated average gasoline spending using average pump prices from GasBuddy.com.

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