Average Automobile Insurance Premiums by US City

Sample Annual Car Insurance Rates for Largest Cities By Population

Mar 4, 2010
Daniel Workman

Automobile Insurance Rates for Los Angeles Traffic - The Infamous Gdub (Flickr)

Quickly compare average auto insurance premiums as of February 2010 by the most highly populated city from 47 states.

According to February 2010 data from RateWatch, the average car insurance rate for the U.S. dropped 0.5% to US$1,836.

That national average represents a 2.4% savings over the average $1,888 quoted during February 2009.

This analysis compares the average automobile insurance quoted rate during February 10, 2010 for the largest cities in 47 American states plus the District of Columbia (DC).

Source data from Insurance.com RateWatch excludes premium data for Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York. Population statistics shown are from U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2008.

Average Car Insurance Premiums in Cities with Highest Population

The first set of 15 largest U.S. cities had an average car insurance premium of $1,688. That average quote is 8.1% lower than the $1,836 national average.

Los Angeles, California (population 3,833,995) … US$1,736 (5.4% below average)
Chicago, Illinois (2,853,114) … $1,435 (21.8% below)
Houston, Texas (2,242,193) … $1,852 (0.9% above)
Phoenix, Arizona (1,567,924) … $1,528 (16.8% below)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1,540,351) … $2,094 (14.1% above)
Detroit, Michigan (912,062) … $1,994 (8.6% above)
Jacksonville, Florida (807,815) … $2,151 (17.2% above)
Indianapolis, Indiana (798,382) … $1,428 (22.2% below)
Columbus, Ohio (754,885) … $1,183 (35.6% below)
Charlotte, North Carolina (687,456) … $1,503 (18.1% below)
Memphis, Tennessee (669,651) … $1,468 (20.0% below)
Baltimore, Maryland (636,919) … $2,352 (28.1% above)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (604,477) … $1,295 (29.5% below)
Denver, Colorado (598,707) … $1,496 (18.5% below)
Seattle, Washington (598,541) … $1,798 (2.1% below).

Among these largest cities, 10 municipalities had average auto insurance rates below the national average. Baltimore and Jacksonville had the highest average premiums.

Average Car Insurance Rates in Cities with Lower Populations

Among the 15 cities with a lower number of residents when compared to top cities in other states, the average car insurance quote was $1,735 this past February. That aggregate average is 5.5% under the U.S. national average.

Little Rock, Arkansas (189,515) … $1,865 (1.6% above)
Salt Lake City, Utah (181,698) … $1,800 (2% below)
Jackson, Mississippi (173,861) … $1,944 (5.9% above)
Providence, Rhode Island (171,557) … $2,212 (20.5% above)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota (154,997) … $1,570 (14.5% below)
Bridgeport, Connecticut (136,405) … $2,095 (14.1% above)
Columbia, South Carolina (127,029) … $1,614 (12.1% below)
Manchester, New Hampshire (108,586) … $1,280 (30.3% below)
Billings, Montana (103,994) … $1,622 (11.7% below)
Fargo, North Dakota (92,103) … $1,346 (26.7% below)
Wilmington, Delaware (71,356) … $2,339 (27.4% above)
Portland, Oregon (64,249) … $1,317 (28.3% below)
Charleston, West Virginia (53,421) … $2,009 (9.4% above)
Cheyenne, Wyoming (53,011) … $1,563 (14.9% below)
Burlington, Vermont (38,889) … $1,232 (32.9% below).

This group of 15 smaller American cities had 9 locations with below-average rate quotes. Automobile insurance premiums in Burlington and Manchester were almost a one-third discount from the U.S. national average.

Average Auto Premiums by Largest Cities in Other States

The list below presents the average car insurance rates by largest city for remaining 17 states for which RateWatch tracks quotes. The average auto insurance premium for this set of cities was $1,822 which is roughly equivalent to the U.S. overall average.

Washington, DC (population 591,833) … US$2,904 (58.2% above average)
Las Vegas, Nevada (558,383) … $1,981(7.9% below)
Portland, Oregon (557,706) … $1,479(14.9% below)
Louisville, Kentucky (557,224) … $2,055 (11.9% above)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (551,789) … $1,783 (2.9% below)
Atlanta, Georgia (537,958) … $1,592(13.3% below)
Albuquerque, New Mexico (521,999) … $1,719(6.4% below)
Kansas City, Missouri (480,129) … $1,578(14.1% below)
Omaha, Nebraska (438,646) … $1,505(18% below)
Virginia Beach, Virginia (433,746) … $1,571(14.4% below)
Minneapolis, Minnesota (382,605) … $1,776 (3.3% below)
Wichita, Kansas (366,046) … $1,607(12.5% below)
New Orleans, Louisiana (311,853) … $2,359(28.5% above)
Newark, New Jersey (population 278,980) … US$2,825 (53.9% above average)
Birmingham, Alabama (228,798) … $1,622 (11.7% below)
Boise, Idaho (205,314) … $1,323 (27.9% below)
Des Moines, Iowa (197,052) … $1,292 (29.6% below).

Only 4 of the above cities show average quoted rates above the national benchmark of $1,836 during February 2010.

Finding Lowest Average Car Insurance Premiums by City

The above analysis shows that larger cities do not necessarily have lower average auto insurance premiums than smaller locals, and vice-versa.

The highest average car insurance premiums were intermediate-size cities, Washington and Newark.

One of the smallest cities, Burlington in Vermont, had the lowest average premium. Yet Burlington’s average quote was closely followed by another intermediate-size city Des Moines and the much-larger Milwaukee.

Sources: This analysis provides independent calculations and insights based on source data publicly available on Insurance.com, a leading third-party website committed to consumer education.