No matter where you live in the world, there are certain aspects associated with the cost of living that will be fairly expensive. Whether it's a mortgage or student loans or taxes, most people have a lot of expenses to account for. One of the main expenses in the United States that many have to devote a sizeable amount of money to is the cost of their auto insurance. However, auto insurance rates in the U.S. vary by state — and it's very inexpensive in some states compared to others. An analysis by Insure.com found that the average cost of car insurance in 31 states is less than the national average, which came in at $1,517 this year. What state an insured lives in is a significant factor when determining the cost of car insurance, but insurers also consider gender, age, the vehicle and credit score. State-specific factors like insurance laws, claim and crime rates, and the number of uninsured drivers can influence the premium as well. Whether you live in an expensive state or a cheap state, Insure.com says to shop at least three insurers and "always make sure you're comparing apples to apples when it comes to coverage levels and deductibles." And when buying a new car, it's always wise to shop for insurance as you look for the car so the premium won't tear through your budget. Insure.com commissioned Quadrant Information Services to calculate auto insurance rates from six large carriers (Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm) in 10 ZIP codes per state. It averaged rates in each state for the cheapest-to-insure 2020 model-year versions of America's 20 best-selling vehicles as of Jan. 2020 and ranked each state by that average. A full description of the methodology can be found here. With this in mind, explore our slideshow above to see Insure.com's list of the least expensive states for car insurance in 2020. Related:

• Most expensive states for car insurance in 2020
• The 20 most expensive cars to insure in 2020
• The 22 least expensive cars to insure in 2020