Americans spend a little more than 3% of their overall income on car insurance, Bankrate says in a 2024 report.

The average cost of full coverage car insurance spiked to $2,543 in 2024 on the national level, notching a 26% increase from 2023, the data showed, with minimum coverage averaging $740 a year, or $62 a month.

At the same time, the national median household income sits at $74,580, meaning Americans now spend 3.41% of their yearly income on car insurance.

Massachusetts policyholders spend the least, with just 1.76% of their income on car insurance, according to the Bankrate, while Louisiana drivers spend the most at 6.53% of their income needed for auto coverage.

Other key insights from the Bankrate report include:
  • Historically, Florida consistently has higher insurance costs than most states and has the second-highest true cost ranking, with drivers spending a whopping 5.69% of their income on car insurance on average;
  • Florida is also home to three of the six MSAs with the highest true cost of insurance: Miami, Tampa and Orlando;
  • Florida and Louisiana both experience frequent catastrophic claims from extreme weather; since insurance rates are determined with risk and historical data in mind, the high financial risk insurance companies and reinsurance companies take on in both states is likely a driving factor of these high premiums.
"From population density to weather patterns, your car insurance rate is strongly influenced by where you live," Bankrate said in the report. "However, insurance is multifaceted. Several other rating factors, such as driving experience and life events, are assessed to assemble an insurance premium based on your unique driving characteristics." The slideshow above illustrates the most affordable SUV's of 2024, according to Car and Driver. See also:

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Joe Toppe

Joe Toppe serves as managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. Joe is also a father of three, an author, and longtime lover of baseball.

Personal Lines
Auto