There are many states that pop into your head when you think about expenses. Whether your expenses involve living, traveling, or just plain eating – places like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami pop into your head as the most expensive places in the United States.
Although you may be correct, car insurance is a little different. If you live in New York or Los Angeles, driving seems like a daily suicide mission, and if you live in Miami your only trip should be to the beach. Surprisingly, only one of these cities is embedded in a state within the top ten most expensive car prices, interest rates, and insurances in America. Drum roll please……..
California is actually number two on the list of the top ten most expensive states to own a car.
What are the Most Expensive States?
1. Georgia
Traffic in the state of Georgia is probably most comparable to the traffic of California in most of the major cities. For some reason, gas prices are higher than majority of states and the car insurance averages out around $800.00 in premiums per coverage cycle. Although car insurance is not the highest of the top five states, the taxes and fees on vehicles are outrageous, coming in more than $100.00 higher than any other state. You will pay around $4,200.00 annually living in major cities throughout the state.
2. California
No surprise here. Studies show that we spend about one-third of our lives in some sort of transportation. I’m sure the fine people of California wish that was the case. If you’re not in traffic you’re waiting to get into traffic. With high annual repairs (probably due to idling), this state is a disaster for driving and expensive to own a car. Unfortunately, many cities in California lack sufficient public transportation systems and are spread out, making it hard to find alternative sources of travel. Expect to shell out about $4,000.00 a year in car expenses.
3. Wyoming
I have to admit this state was actually astonishing and mind-boggling as one of the top five. The killer expense in this state is gas costs. More than any other state, people spend insane amounts of dough on gas due to extensive travel times and gas prices. The lack of infrastructure provides logistical problems for gas supply, increasing prices and limiting supply. In addition, car repairs are in the top percentile.
The one positive attributes to owning a car in this state is the cost of insurance. Wyoming is the lowest on the top ten of most expensive places to own a car, which means that if you don’t travel a lot or work at home, your expenses may be much lower than the average $3,900.00.
4. Rhode Island
Sometimes I forget this place even exists, but the cost of driving will make you remember it quickly.
Although gas prices are reasonable, car insurance is higher than any other state, raking in around $1,000 in premiums per coverage cycle. That’s absolutely absurd. If you care to save money, you might want to invest in a bike to get you around Providence and other cities within the state – even though I’m sure there is some kind of mandatory bike insurance as well.
5. Nevada
Rounding out our top five is the lonely state of Nevada. Some people forget Las Vegas is even in Nevada because when people talk about the state they’re usually squawking about last weekend’s trip to “Sin City”. But don’t be fooled by the desert mountain terrain, the cost of traveling is expensive.
Although business incentives are high through low-tax corporations and easy business start-ups, living and working in this state can be a problem. Given the “lost wages” and lack of infrastructure in most of the state, people just don’t have $3,800.00 to shell out for car expenses – unless of course they hit a ‘heater’ at the blackjack tables. With extremely high taxes and fees on cars, people are going to be suffering for a long time out in the West.
This article was written by Matthew Hall. As much as Matthew loves cars as the next guy, he definitely doesn’t love the price tag that comes along with driving them. Matthew is a professional writer for Insurance Land. Be sure to check out his Google+ to read more of his work.