Why does it cost more to own a car in some states than others?

Four state-level costs move the number: fuel prices, car insurance, vehicle registration fees, and (to a lesser degree) maintenance labor rates. Gas can vary by more than $2 a gallon between the cheapest and most expensive states, and insurance can differ by more than double for the same driver and car. Stacked together, the same vehicle can cost well over a thousand dollars more per year to run in a high-cost state than a low-cost one.

Which states are cheapest to own a car in?

Low-cost states tend to combine cheap gas, below-average insurance, and modest registration fees — often in the South, Mountain West, and northern New England. States with very low insurance factors (like New Hampshire, Wyoming, Idaho, and the Carolinas) and cheap-gas states (like Texas, Mississippi, and the Gulf states) land near the bottom of the running-cost table. The exact ranking depends on whether you drive gas or electric.

Which states are most expensive to own a car in?

High-cost states usually pair expensive gas with high insurance. California stands out — it has the priciest gas in the country, though its insurance sits only modestly above average. The priciest insurance markets are Nevada, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, and Louisiana, with Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey close behind. High-electricity states like Hawaii and California also make EV charging more expensive than the national average.

Does the state change how much an EV costs to run?

Yes, in two ways. Electricity prices vary enormously — from around 12 cents per kWh in the cheapest states to over 40 cents in Hawaii — so home-charging cost can more than triple between states. Many states also add an annual EV registration surcharge to make up for lost gas-tax revenue. So the cheapest state for a gas car is not always the cheapest for an EV; run the numbers for the powertrain you actually plan to buy.

Should I factor state costs into which car I buy?

Yes. Where you live can shift the math between a gas car and an EV, and between a cheap-to-insure model and an expensive one. In a high-gas, low-electricity state, an EV pulls further ahead; in a state with a steep EV surcharge and cheap gas, the gap narrows. Insurance also varies by state and by vehicle, so the smart move is to estimate fuel, insurance, and registration for your state and your shortlist before you buy.

Cost of Ownership

Cost to Own a Car by State

The same car can cost well over a thousand dollars a year more to own in one state than another, because insurance premiums, registration fees, gas, and electricity prices all vary sharply by state.

Where you live changes what a car costs to run. Fuel, insurance, and registration all vary by state — enough that the same vehicle can cost well over a thousand dollars more per year in a high-cost state than a low-cost one. Here is how the states stack up, using current prices.

Analysis by the MotiveGrid Engineering Team · Updated June 23, 2026

Key numbers

On the same reference car (30 MPG, 12,000 miles a year), annual running costs span $3,216 in North Dakota to $5,530 in Nevada — a $2,314-a-year gap on fuel, insurance, and registration alone.
Gas prices range from $3.93 a gallon in Indiana to $6.11 in California (AAA state averages, 2026-05-25).
Home electricity for EV charging runs from about 12¢ per kWh in North Dakota to 42¢ in Hawaii — the same EV can cost 3.5× as much per mile to charge depending on the state.

The short answer

Four state-level costs drive the difference: fuel, insurance, registration, and maintenance. Gas ranges from about $3.93 to $6.11 a gallon across states, and insurance can more than double for the same car. For a typical 30-mpg car driven 12,000 miles a year, that adds up to roughly $3,216 a year in North Dakota versus $5,530 in Nevada — before depreciation, which doesn't vary by state. EV owners should look at electricity prices and EV surcharges, which reshuffle the ranking.

Cheapest states to run a typical car: North Dakota, New Hampshire, Idaho.
Most expensive: Nevada, Connecticut, California — driven by pricey gas and/or high insurance.
Gas spread: $3.93–$6.11/gal. Insurance more than doubles between the cheapest and priciest states.
EVs flip the math: electricity ranges from ~12¢ to 40¢+/kWh, and many states add an annual EV registration surcharge.
Depreciation (the biggest cost) doesn't vary by state — but fuel + insurance + registration can swing $1,000+/yr.

How much does the state actually change it?

Quite a lot for running costs. Holding the car constant — a typical 30-mpg crossover driven 12,000 miles a year — the combination of fuel, insurance, and registration ranges from about $3,216 a year in the cheapest state to $5,530 in the most expensive. That is a gap of roughly $2,314 a year, every year, for the exact same vehicle.

The big caveat: this is running cost. Depreciation — usually the single largest cost of ownership — barely varies by state, so the state changes the running portion, not the whole picture. But running costs are the part you feel every month, and the part you can shop for by choosing an efficient, cheap-to-insure car.

The state cost levers

Four costs vary by state. Fuel and insurance are the biggest swings; registration is smaller but recurring; and maintenance labor rates vary modestly. For EVs, swap fuel for electricity — and watch for EV registration surcharges.

Fuel. Gas runs from about $3.93 to $6.11 a gallon (AAA state averages, 2026-05-25). At 12,000 miles in a 30-mpg car, that alone is a few hundred dollars a year of difference.
Insurance. The same driver and car can pay well over twice as much in the priciest states (Nevada, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana — high-litigation or no-fault markets) as in the cheapest (New Hampshire, Wyoming, Idaho, North Carolina). The percentages in the table are each state's average full-coverage premium against the national average, averaged across two published rate surveys (ValuePenguin and Insurify, 2026-07-24). Published surveys disagree by more than you would expect — they use different driver profiles and coverage limits — so treat these as tiers, not quotes.
Registration. Annual fees range from token amounts to over $100, and some states tie the fee to the vehicle's value. EVs often pay an extra annual surcharge.
Electricity (for EVs). Home-charging cost swings even more than gas — from roughly 12¢ per kWh in the cheapest states to over 40¢ in Hawaii.

Cheapest and most expensive states

Here are the extremes for our reference gas car. Low-cost states pair cheap gas with below-average insurance; high-cost states stack expensive gas on top of high insurance.

Lowest annual running cost — fuel + insurance + registration (30-mpg car, 12,000 mi/yr)
State	Gas/gal	Insurance vs avg	Est. annual running cost
North Dakota	$4.19	−26%	$3,216
New Hampshire	$4.46	−46%	$3,231
Idaho	$4.68	−35%	$3,241
North Carolina	$4.19	−34%	$3,242
Tennessee	$4.16	−22%	$3,253

Highest annual running cost — fuel + insurance + registration (30-mpg car, 12,000 mi/yr)
State	Gas/gal	Insurance vs avg	Est. annual running cost
Nevada	$5.26	+49%	$5,530
Connecticut	$4.63	+33%	$5,116
California	$6.11	+7%	$4,955
Rhode Island	$4.45	+47%	$4,767
Colorado	$4.66	+24%	$4,746

All states, ranked by running cost

The full table, cheapest to most expensive, with the gas price and electricity rate behind each. Use the electricity column if you're considering an EV — it can reorder the list. Insurance is shown as a percentage above or below the national average for the same driver and car.

All states · reference 30-mpg car, 12,000 mi/yr · running cost only (excludes depreciation)
State	Gas/gal	Electricity	Insurance vs avg	Annual running cost
North Dakota	$4.19	12¢/kWh	−26%	$3,216
New Hampshire	$4.46	27¢/kWh	−46%	$3,231
Idaho	$4.68	13¢/kWh	−35%	$3,241
North Carolina	$4.19	16¢/kWh	−34%	$3,242
Tennessee	$4.16	15¢/kWh	−22%	$3,253
Ohio	$4.67	19¢/kWh	−33%	$3,256
Indiana	$3.93	18¢/kWh	−25%	$3,298
Vermont	$4.55	24¢/kWh	−29%	$3,314
Alabama	$4.13	17¢/kWh	−18%	$3,318
Wisconsin	$4.39	19¢/kWh	−26%	$3,322
Iowa	$4.19	13¢/kWh	−29%	$3,381
Wyoming	$4.53	14¢/kWh	−44%	$3,382
Maine	$4.49	28¢/kWh	−32%	$3,402
West Virginia	$4.50	16¢/kWh	−16%	$3,530
South Dakota	$4.29	14¢/kWh	−12%	$3,534
New Mexico	$4.39	15¢/kWh	−12%	$3,560
Arkansas	$4.08	14¢/kWh	−5%	$3,561
Oklahoma	$4.02	14¢/kWh	−3%	$3,678
Hawaii	$5.65	42¢/kWh	−30%	$3,705
Pennsylvania	$4.62	21¢/kWh	−9%	$3,725
Nebraska	$4.28	13¢/kWh	−18%	$3,761
Utah	$4.65	13¢/kWh	−6%	$3,784
Massachusetts	$4.48	30¢/kWh	−19%	$3,839
Alaska	$5.28	27¢/kWh	−18%	$3,852
Kansas	$4.07	15¢/kWh	−5%	$3,884
Montana	$4.58	13¢/kWh	−12%	$3,887
Illinois	$4.95	19¢/kWh	−12%	$3,891
Georgia	$4.00	15¢/kWh	+14%	$3,898
Mississippi	$3.98	16¢/kWh	−2%	$3,929
Texas	$4.04	16¢/kWh	+14%	$3,971
Oregon	$5.31	15¢/kWh	−10%	$4,050
Missouri	$4.17	13¢/kWh	+2%	$4,052
Kentucky	$4.28	15¢/kWh	+2%	$4,054
South Carolina	$4.11	16¢/kWh	+14%	$4,210
Minnesota	$4.33	15¢/kWh	+3%	$4,210
Virginia	$4.40	17¢/kWh	−5%	$4,227
New York	$4.60	29¢/kWh	+18%	$4,279
Louisiana	$4.02	14¢/kWh	+35%	$4,373
Arizona	$4.79	16¢/kWh	+1%	$4,404
New Jersey	$4.51	23¢/kWh	+28%	$4,426
Washington	$5.77	14¢/kWh	+2%	$4,496
Michigan	$4.65	21¢/kWh	+23%	$4,524
Maryland	$4.46	36¢/kWh	+32%	$4,559
Florida	$4.38	15¢/kWh	+38%	$4,589
Washington, D.C.	$4.66	25¢/kWh	+33%	$4,626
Delaware	$4.39	18¢/kWh	+42%	$4,636
Colorado	$4.66	17¢/kWh	+24%	$4,746
Rhode Island	$4.45	30¢/kWh	+47%	$4,767
California	$6.11	33¢/kWh	+7%	$4,955
Connecticut	$4.63	30¢/kWh	+33%	$5,116
Nevada	$5.26	14¢/kWh	+49%	$5,530

These figures isolate what the state controls; your actual cost also depends on the specific car, your driving record, and how many miles you drive. To put it all together for a real vehicle, see our cost of car ownership guide, find the lowest all-in models on the cheapest cars to own ranking, and read why one car can cost far more to insure than another in why some cars cost more to insure.

Every state, in detail

Each state has its own page with the full picture: its insurance factor, registration formula worked on a real price, gas and electricity rates, and all the vehicles we track re-ranked at that state's costs.

Frequently asked questions

Why does it cost more to own a car in some states than others?: Four state-level costs move the number: fuel prices, car insurance, vehicle registration fees, and (to a lesser degree) maintenance labor rates. Gas can vary by more than $2 a gallon between the cheapest and most expensive states, and insurance can differ by more than double for the same driver and car. Stacked together, the same vehicle can cost well over a thousand dollars more per year to run in a high-cost state than a low-cost one.
Which states are cheapest to own a car in?: Low-cost states tend to combine cheap gas, below-average insurance, and modest registration fees — often in the South, Mountain West, and northern New England. States with very low insurance factors (like New Hampshire, Wyoming, Idaho, and the Carolinas) and cheap-gas states (like Texas, Mississippi, and the Gulf states) land near the bottom of the running-cost table. The exact ranking depends on whether you drive gas or electric.
Which states are most expensive to own a car in?: High-cost states usually pair expensive gas with high insurance. California stands out — it has the priciest gas in the country, though its insurance sits only modestly above average. The priciest insurance markets are Nevada, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, and Louisiana, with Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey close behind. High-electricity states like Hawaii and California also make EV charging more expensive than the national average.
Does the state change how much an EV costs to run?: Yes, in two ways. Electricity prices vary enormously — from around 12 cents per kWh in the cheapest states to over 40 cents in Hawaii — so home-charging cost can more than triple between states. Many states also add an annual EV registration surcharge to make up for lost gas-tax revenue. So the cheapest state for a gas car is not always the cheapest for an EV; run the numbers for the powertrain you actually plan to buy.
Should I factor state costs into which car I buy?: Yes. Where you live can shift the math between a gas car and an EV, and between a cheap-to-insure model and an expensive one. In a high-gas, low-electricity state, an EV pulls further ahead; in a state with a steep EV surcharge and cheap gas, the gap narrows. Insurance also varies by state and by vehicle, so the smart move is to estimate fuel, insurance, and registration for your state and your shortlist before you buy.