Most Expensive Cities for Auto Insurance

new york

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida
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Miami Beach
Miami Beach by James Willamor (CC BY-SA)

Methodology

To determine how much auto insurance costs for the top 50 largest cities by number of households, the data analytics outfit doxoINSIGHTS used anonymous bill pay data. For this study, data was analyzed from over 7 million customers across locations, payments sources, and income brackets.  


Related: These States Are the Worst for Car Theft

San Diego
Glenn Pettersen/istockphoto

Overall Auto Insurance Spending

The total market size for the auto insurance industry is a whopping $250 billion with an average annual cost of $1,929 for each U.S. household. Surprisingly, only 82% of households have insurance. While some households may not have a car, it also points to a large number of uninsured motorists who are putting themselves and others at risk on the roads. 


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Alamo square and Painted Ladies with San Francisco skyline
Spondylolithesis/istockphoto

10th Least Expensive: San Francisco

Average Monthly Bill: $151

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 69%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,250 

The average per household cost in San Francisco is much lower than in many other cities because such a small percentage of households have an auto insurance bill. 


Related: 12 Tips to Keep You from Buying Too Much Insurance

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico by Beau Rogers (CC BY-NC)

9th Least Expensive: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Average Monthly Bill: $150

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 85%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,530

Tucson Arizona skyline cityscape framed by saguaro cactus and mountains
dszc/istockphoto

8th Least Expensive: Tucson, Arizona

Average Monthly Bill: $146

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 82%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,437

Riverwalk San Antonio Texas skyline, park walkway along scenic canal
dszc/istockphoto

7th Least Expensive: San Antonio

Average Monthly Bill: $143

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 80%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,373

Kansas City Missouri Lake Skyline
TriggerPhoto/istockphoto

6th Least Expensive: Kansas City, Missouri

Average Monthly Bill: $128

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 79%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,213

St. Paul, Minnesota Skyline
pabradyphoto/istockphoto

5th Least Expensive: St. Paul, Minnesota

Average Monthly Bill: $123

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 81%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,196

Sacramento Tower Bridge and Sacramento Capitol Mall
JasonDoiy/istockphoto

4th Least Expensive: Sacramento, California

Average Monthly Bill: $123

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 72%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,063

Lower rates of insurance contribute to a lower annual cost per household than some cities where the monthly rate is higher.

Dallas Texas evening skyline
4kodiak/istockphoto

3rd Least Expensive: Dallas

Average Monthly Bill: $122

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 80%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,171

San Diego, California
DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto

2nd Least Expensive: San Diego

Average Monthly Bill: $120

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 82%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $1,181

It’s not too often a city in California makes the top of the list for something being the least expensive. Unfortunately for San Diego drivers, they had one of the sharpest increases in the last year, thanks in large part to inflation.

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Walter Bibikow / Getty

Least Expensive: Minneapolis

Average Monthly Bill: $102

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 77%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $942

Despite sometimes treacherous winter driving conditions, Minnesota has some of the lower insurance rates for large cities with both Minneapolis and St. Paul coming in among the least expensive five cities.

Austin, Texas
4kodiak/istockphoto

10th Most Expensive (Tied): Austin, Texas

Average Monthly Bill: $228

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 79%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,161 

Austin’s average annual cost is slightly lower than in Charlotte, North Carolina, (the city it's tied with) given the lower percentage of insured households.

Charlotte North Carolina Uptown downtown aerial view
pawel.gaul/istockphoto

10th Most Expensive (Tied): Charlotte, North Carolina

Average Monthly Bill: $228

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 88%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,408

Fort Worth Stockyards Texas
benedek/istockphoto

9th Most Expensive: Fort Worth, Texas

Average Monthly Bill: $231

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 86%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,439

Atlanta, Georgia Skyline
SeanPavonePhoto/istockphoto

8th Most Expensive: Atlanta

Average Monthly Bill: $247

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 83%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,460

Birmingham, Alabama skyline from the highest point atop Red Mountain
Birmingham, Alabama skyline from the highest point atop Red Mountain by André Natta (None)

7th Most Expensive: Birmingham, Alabama

Average Monthly Bill: $248

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 87%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,589

Detroit Aerial Panorama
pawel.gaul/istockphoto

6th Most Expensive: Detroit

Average Monthly Bill: $252

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 79%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,389

Since fewer Detroiters have auto insurance, the average annual cost per household is lower despite higher monthly bills than some other cities.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Sean Pavone/istockphoto

5th Most Expensive: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Average Monthly Bill: $262

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 91%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,861

Since most people in Fort Lauderdale have auto insurance, the average annual cost is higher despite having a slightly lower monthly cost than Portland.

Sunrise at Portland, Oregon
Shunyu Fan/istockphoto

4th Most Expensive: Portland, Oregon

Average Monthly Bill: $263

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 87%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $2,746

Downtown Tampa
Kasra Keighobady/istockphoto

3rd Most Expensive: Tampa, Florida

Average Monthly Bill: $339

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 85%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $3,458

Interstate 4, which connects Tampa to Orlando, is one of the deadliest highways in the United States, which likely plays a role in the higher insurance rates.

Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, Florida
Sean Pavone/istockphoto

2nd Most Expensive: Miami

Average Monthly Bill: $370

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 81%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $3,596

Part of the reason for Miami’s high costs is likely related to the fact that Florida requires individuals to have no-fault insurance, which is more costly for insurance companies.

new york
frankpeters/istockphoto

Most Expensive: New York

Average Monthly Bill: $448

Percentage of Households With This Bill: 67%

Average Per Household Cost Per Year: $3,602

New York’s astronomical monthly rates also lead to the highest annual average per household cost despite only 67% of New York households having this bill. In New York, it seems it pays to take cabs for multiple reasons.