Cost of Ownership
Cost to Own a Car 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 · scored from primary sources
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 $3,454 a year in the cheapest state to $5,215 in the most expensive. That is a gap of roughly $1,761 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 $4 to $6 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 50% more in the priciest states (Michigan, Louisiana, and other no-fault or high-litigation states) than the cheapest (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine).
- 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.
| State | Gas/gal | Insurance vs avg | Est. annual running cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | $5 | −22% | $3,454 |
| North Dakota | $4 | −11% | $3,516 |
| South Dakota | $4 | −12% | $3,534 |
| Tennessee | $4 | −5% | $3,593 |
| Arkansas | $4 | +0% | $3,661 |
| State | Gas/gal | Insurance vs avg | Est. annual running cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $6 | +20% | $5,215 |
| Connecticut | $5 | +28% | $5,016 |
| Michigan | $5 | +45% | $4,964 |
| Nevada | $5 | +20% | $4,950 |
| Washington | $6 | +10% | $4,656 |
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.
| State | Gas/gal | Electricity | Insurance vs avg | Annual running cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | $5 | 24¢/kWh | −22% | $3,454 |
| North Dakota | $4 | 12¢/kWh | −11% | $3,516 |
| South Dakota | $4 | 14¢/kWh | −12% | $3,534 |
| Tennessee | $4 | 15¢/kWh | −5% | $3,593 |
| Arkansas | $4 | 14¢/kWh | +0% | $3,661 |
| Alabama | $4 | 17¢/kWh | +0% | $3,678 |
| Indiana | $4 | 18¢/kWh | −6% | $3,678 |
| Maine | $4 | 28¢/kWh | −18% | $3,682 |
| Idaho | $5 | 13¢/kWh | −12% | $3,701 |
| Oklahoma | $4 | 14¢/kWh | +0% | $3,738 |
| Wisconsin | $4 | 19¢/kWh | −5% | $3,742 |
| New Hampshire | $4 | 27¢/kWh | −20% | $3,751 |
| Iowa | $4 | 13¢/kWh | −10% | $3,761 |
| Georgia | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +8% | $3,778 |
| North Carolina | $4 | 16¢/kWh | −7% | $3,782 |
| Texas | $4 | 16¢/kWh | +5% | $3,791 |
| Ohio | $5 | 19¢/kWh | −6% | $3,796 |
| Delaware | $4 | 18¢/kWh | +0% | $3,796 |
| New Mexico | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +0% | $3,800 |
| Rhode Island | $4 | 30¢/kWh | +0% | $3,827 |
| West Virginia | $4 | 16¢/kWh | +0% | $3,850 |
| New Jersey | $5 | 23¢/kWh | +0% | $3,866 |
| Pennsylvania | $5 | 21¢/kWh | +0% | $3,905 |
| Maryland | $4 | 36¢/kWh | +0% | $3,919 |
| South Carolina | $4 | 16¢/kWh | +0% | $3,930 |
| Washington, D.C. | $5 | 25¢/kWh | +0% | $3,966 |
| Mississippi | $4 | 16¢/kWh | +0% | $3,969 |
| Kansas | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +0% | $3,984 |
| Missouri | $4 | 13¢/kWh | +0% | $4,012 |
| Kentucky | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +0% | $4,014 |
| Wyoming | $5 | 14¢/kWh | −12% | $4,022 |
| Nebraska | $4 | 13¢/kWh | +0% | $4,121 |
| Montana | $5 | 13¢/kWh | +0% | $4,127 |
| Minnesota | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +0% | $4,150 |
| Utah | $5 | 13¢/kWh | +15% | $4,204 |
| Alaska | $5 | 27¢/kWh | +0% | $4,212 |
| Florida | $4 | 15¢/kWh | +20% | $4,229 |
| Illinois | $5 | 19¢/kWh | +5% | $4,231 |
| Hawaii | $6 | 42¢/kWh | +0% | $4,305 |
| Virginia | $4 | 17¢/kWh | +0% | $4,327 |
| Louisiana | $4 | 14¢/kWh | +35% | $4,373 |
| Arizona | $5 | 16¢/kWh | +0% | $4,384 |
| New York | $5 | 29¢/kWh | +25% | $4,419 |
| Oregon | $5 | 15¢/kWh | +10% | $4,450 |
| Colorado | $5 | 17¢/kWh | +10% | $4,466 |
| Massachusetts | $4 | 30¢/kWh | +15% | $4,519 |
| Washington | $6 | 14¢/kWh | +10% | $4,656 |
| Nevada | $5 | 14¢/kWh | +20% | $4,950 |
| Michigan | $5 | 21¢/kWh | +45% | $4,964 |
| Connecticut | $5 | 30¢/kWh | +28% | $5,016 |
| California | $6 | 33¢/kWh | +20% | $5,215 |
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.
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 50% or more 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 Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) 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 and an above-average insurance factor. Michigan and Louisiana have historically had the highest car-insurance costs in the nation, and states like New York, Connecticut, and Nevada also run high. 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.