The Most Expensive States to Own a Car, Ranked. Here's Where Texas Falls

Iowa drivers spend just $3,261 a year to keep their car legal, insured, and running.

That’s the cheapest of any state in the country.

The priciest state in the nation charges more than double that.

A new ranking lines up exactly how much drivers pay for insurance, gas, maintenance, and registration in all 50 states.

Texas doesn’t land where you might expect.

Note: This is general information, not financial or insurance advice. Insurance premiums, gas prices, and registration fees are subject to change.

Ranking the Most Expensive States

MoneyGeek built this ranking by adding up four costs of keeping a car on the road in every state, including insurance, gas, maintenance, and vehicle registration fees.

It pulled insurance prices from its own 2026 rate data, gas and mileage numbers from federal highway records, and repair costs from a per-mile rate published by the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Car payments and the price of the vehicle itself never entered the math.

Only the cost of keeping a car running after someone already owns it did.

What MoneyGeek’s Ranking Leaves Out

MoneyGeek’s ranking only counts costs that show up after somebody already owns a car.

Insurance, gas, maintenance, and registration make the list.

The car payment, the down payment, and the sticker price never do.

A driver who paid off their car years ago in a high-cost state can still owe thousands a year just to keep it legal, insured, and running.

1. Delaware

Delaware tops MoneyGeek’s ranking of the most expensive states to own a car in 2026.

Its drivers pay $7,452 a year combined for insurance, gas, maintenance, and registration.

Gas alone runs $2,687 a year there, the highest total of any state.

Delaware drivers log 23,290 miles a year, more than double the mileage in the cheapest state on the list.

The state charges no sales tax on a car purchase.

The break ends there.

2. Georgia

Georgia lands among the most expensive states to own a car, and insurance explains why.

The state carries the nation’s highest average auto insurance premium, $2,912 a year.

That’s more than triple what Virginia drivers pay for the same coverage.

Georgia’s total cost of ownership reaches $5,943 a year even though its $20 vehicle registration fee is the lowest in the country.

Insurance drives the number anyway.

3. New Mexico

New Mexico ranks among the most expensive states to own a car, largely on the strength of its insurance bill.

Premiums there average $2,160 a year, among the highest in the Southwest.

Add in $1,569 for gas, above the national average, and the state’s total lands at $5,474 a year.

New Mexico drivers cover 15,267 miles a year, pushing maintenance costs to $1,685.

Distance adds up fast.

4. Maine

Maine is one of the most expensive states in the country to own a car, and insurance carries the blame.

Its insurance bill averages $2,827 a year, the second-highest in the country behind only Georgia.

That single expense pushes the state’s total past $5,300 a year, the highest total anywhere in the Northeast.

Below-average mileage keeps Maine’s maintenance costs to $1,251, squarely in the middle of the national pack.

That’s the deciding cost.

5. California

California drivers pay $524 a year just to register a vehicle, one of the five highest registration fees of any state in the country.

Gas adds another $1,801 a year, among the highest totals nationwide.

Insurance runs $1,861 a year, pushing California’s total to $5,344.

Lower-than-average mileage keeps maintenance costs down to $1,158.

Both bills add up.

6. Mississippi

Mississippi charges $719 a year to register a vehicle, the highest fee of any state in the country.

Drivers there log 18,699 miles a year, pushing maintenance costs to $2,064, the second-highest total nationally.

Insurance stays moderate at $1,310 a year, but registration and maintenance combined still land Mississippi’s total at $5,165.

Registration fees drive this one.

7. Arizona

Arizona joins the ranks of the most expensive states to own a car, and its registration fee is the reason.

The state charges $564 a year to register a vehicle, tied to the car’s value and among the highest fees in the country.

Insurance runs $1,628 a year there, and gas adds another $1,439, both above the national average.

Arizona’s total lands at $4,985 a year, just under the $5,000 mark.

Just short of it.

Texas

Texas ranks 24th out of 50 states in MoneyGeek’s ranking, right around the middle of the pack.

Its total cost of $4,009 a year sits just $6 above the nationwide median of $4,003.

That puts it far below Delaware’s $7,452 and comfortably above Iowa’s $3,261.

Texas drivers pay $1,233 a year for insurance and $1,265 for gas, both close to the national middle.

Registration follows the same pattern.

Texas charges $74 a year to register a vehicle, a middle-of-the-pack fee compared to the rest of the country.

Ordinary, top to bottom.

Psst! Want to see exactly where every state ranks? Search the table below for your own state and compare it to Texas.

Car Ownership Costs by State

Sorted priciest to cheapest. Tap a column heading to sort, or type your state to find it.

Figures come from MoneyGeek’s 2026 total cost of ownership study. They’re estimates; actual costs vary by driver, vehicle, and county.

Insurance Drives the Widest Gap

Insurance creates the widest state-to-state swing of any single cost category in MoneyGeek’s ranking.

Premiums range from just $902 a year in Virginia to $2,912 in Georgia, a gap of $2,010.

Gas costs swing nearly as much, from $764 in Montana to $2,687 in Delaware.

Texas sits closer to the low end on insurance, paying $1,233 a year, well under half of Georgia’s bill.

Zip code matters more than many drivers think.

Georgia proves the point.

The Cheapest States Sit Far Below Texas

Iowa holds the title of cheapest state to own a car in the country, at just $3,261 a year.

Idaho follows closely at $3,315, with insurance premiums of just $983 a year.

Montana lands at $3,271, the second-cheapest state overall.

All three stay affordable.

Iowa’s and Idaho’s insurance premiums combined still don’t reach $2,000, less than Georgia charges for insurance alone.

Montana keeps its own total down through the lowest average mileage of any state, just 7,105 miles a year, which holds its maintenance costs to $784, the cheapest in the nation.