States With The Cheapest Car Insurance Rates

The state you live in plays a large part in the cost of your car insurance. Rates have climbed sharply nationally over the past few years, but a handful of states have stayed cheap year after year. Other factors affect your premium too (age, driving record, credit, vehicle), but location alone can swing your bill by thousands of dollars. Drivers in Louisiana currently pay around $4,180 a year on average, more than double what drivers in Idaho or Maine pay for the same coverage.

This mainly has to do with the amount of coverage each state legally requires. States like New York and Michigan, which require Personal Injury Protection (PIP), have higher average insurance rates than states that don’t mandate that coverage. Litigation environment matters too. Louisiana’s injury claims run roughly 200% above the national average, which is the single biggest reason it has overtaken Michigan and Florida as the most expensive state in 2025.

Other factors like population density, weather patterns, theft rates, and driver demographics also shape your state’s average premium. The figures below reflect Bankrate’s November 2025 analysis of average full-coverage premiums in each state. All five states still rank among the cheapest in the country, though absolute premiums have risen meaningfully across the board since pre-pandemic years, and Wyoming and Vermont have also pushed into the top of the affordability list.

1. Idaho: $1,476

Idaho is mostly rural, with car insurance prices that reflect its low population density and limited urban congestion. Bankrate’s 2026 analysis puts Idaho’s average full coverage premium at $1,476 per year, the lowest of the five states on this list. As with Maine and New Hampshire, the low volume of drivers and lack of large metropolitan areas keep accident frequency down, which lets insurers price aggressively.

Idaho also has one of the lowest uninsured driver rates in the country at around 6%, third-lowest nationally, versus a national average of 14%. When more drivers carry coverage, insurance companies face fewer uninsured-claim losses and can keep prices down.

One clarification worth making: Idaho does not require drivers to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. State law requires insurers to offer UM/UIM, but drivers can decline it in writing. That’s different from Wisconsin, which mandates uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage at minimum levels.

2. Maine: $1,687

Maine has consistently had some of the cheapest car insurance rates in the country, and it currently holds the top spot in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ rankings. One reason Maine’s car insurance rates are so low is that very few drivers go uninsured.

Maine also isn’t very densely populated, which generally reduces the risk of traffic incidents. Many insurance companies compete here for a relatively small amount of business, which keeps prices down.

Current data backs up the ranking. Bankrate’s November 2025 analysis puts the average Maine full coverage premium at $1,687 per year, which is roughly 37% below the national average of $2,697. Minimum coverage runs much lower, around $425 a year, putting Maine among the cheapest states either way you measure.

3. New Hampshire: $1,694

Just over the border from Maine, New Hampshire has one of the lowest car insurance rates in the country. New Hampshire is similar to Maine in that they both are largely rural with low population densities, and they both have many established insurance companies competing for business. The average full coverage premium in 2025 is around $1,694 per year.

What makes New Hampshire unique is that it doesn’t require drivers to carry car insurance. As of July 2024, when Virginia repealed its uninsured motor vehicle fee, New Hampshire became the only state in the country without a mandatory auto insurance requirement. Drivers do have to prove financial responsibility if they cause an accident, which motivates most New Hampshire residents to buy coverage anyway.

4. Ohio: $1,842

Ohio is one of the more densely populated states on this list and is home to several large cities including Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, and Toledo. Although the state is well-developed and sees higher traffic volumes than the rural states ranked alongside it, insurance prices stay low thanks to fierce competition. Hundreds of local and national providers give Ohio residents plenty of choice.

Although Ohio sees winter snowstorms and the occasional tornado, serious weather events are relatively rare. Ohio’s insurance requirements are also on the lower end. The state only requires drivers to carry property damage and bodily injury liability coverage at 25/50/25 minimums, with no mandatory PIP, uninsured motorist, or medical payments coverage. Average full coverage in Ohio runs about $1,842 per year per Bankrate, well under the national average.

5. Wisconsin: $1,902

Wisconsin is another state with consistently low insurance rates, although prices have crept up along with national trends. Average full coverage in Wisconsin is about $1,902 per year in 2025, just under the national average. Wisconsin is similar to Ohio in terms of weather, population density, and carrier competition, all of which contribute to the state’s affordable rates.

Wisconsin’s minimum coverage requirements are 25/50/10: $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 in property damage liability. The state also requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage at 25/50, which is somewhat unusual for a low-cost state. Even with that addition, the overall coverage floor is light compared to no-fault PIP states.

Summary

Despite expensive car insurance in states like Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, and New York, there are still states where you can find an affordable policy. The reasons these states stay cheap are consistent: low population densities, light state coverage mandates, plenty of carrier competition, and high rates of insured drivers. It also helps that none of them operate under a no-fault PIP system, which tends to push premiums higher in states that use it.

Honestly, the most useful takeaway here isn’t the rankings themselves but the underlying factors. If you live in a no-fault state with high theft rates and a litigious claims environment, no amount of shopping will get you to Maine or Idaho prices. But within any state, comparing quotes from at least three carriers, raising your deductible, and bundling auto with home or renters still moves the needle by 10% to 25% for most drivers.