Car Ownership Costs: A State-by-State Comparison

A new study of car ownership by researchers at Bankrate.com found that it’s cheaper to own a car in Minnesota than the national average, but just barely.

The study found that Minnesota ranked 21^st in terms of annual cost of ownership, coming in just $38 south of Indiana, the 25^th ranked state. To determine the total cost of annual ownership, researchers looked at three key factors:

• Repairs

• Insurance

• Gasoline

Researchers found the average cost of each of those expenses to come up with a grand total. Minnesota ranked 18^th for cheapest average auto repair, 16^th for average insurance costs, and 36^th for average gasoline expenditures. On average, Minnesotans spent $346 annually on repair costs, $782 on car insurance, and $1,033 on gasoline for a total of $2,162 a year.

The cheapest state for car ownership was Iowa, which boasts an annual ownership cost of $1,942. The most expensive state for car ownership was Wyoming. Residents in Wyoming spent an average of $2,705 a year on their car.

The Best and Worst for Car Ownership

As noted above, Iowa and Wyoming rank as the cheapest and most expensive states for car ownership. After Iowa, a slew of Midwest states dominate the Top 5 cheapest states for car ownership. Ohio comes in at second, followed by Illinois. Idaho and Wisconsin.

On the other side of the spectrum, it appears that it’s more costly to own a car in the southeast. After Wyoming, Louisiana slips in as the second most expensive state for car ownership, followed closely by Florida, Mississippi and New Jersey.

In all, the average Iowan spends $763 less each year in auto-related expenses than someone from Wyoming.

For more information on how each state scored in all three categories, head over to Bankrate.com to see the expanded findings.

Related source: Bankrate.com