Average Cost of Car Insurance in Iowa for 2026

Iowa's full coverage costs $97 a month (below the $124 national average) and minimum coverage costs $32 in average. That's despite Iowa's uninsured driver rate of 20%, well above the 13% national rate reported by the Insurance Research Council. Your city, your age, driving record and credit score all affect your rate.

Raising your liability limits to 100/300/100 in Iowa costs $46 more a month. Dropping your deductible to $0 costs almost twice that, $88. Adding comprehensive and collision costs $22 more a month over minimum liability, bringing that policy to $57.

Council Bluffs has the highest full coverage rate in Iowa at $112 a month, while the state average is $97. What explains this is heavy truck traffic on I-80 and I-29, plus theft that spills over the border from the Omaha metro. Sioux City is second at $104. Iowa City is the most affordable at $84, with Ames close behind at $86. Rates in Iowa's 10 largest cities vary by $28 per month (or a $336 annual difference) between the most expensive and cheapest.

These Iowa rates show what it costs to add a driver to a family plan, not a standalone policy. A 16-year-old male costs $215 a month on a family plan, more than double the $128 a 25-year-old male pays. Iowa allows gender-based pricing, and at 16 male drivers pay $218 more than female drivers. To see where your own age and profile fit, the free Iowa car insurance calculator gives you an estimate.

In Iowa, the most costly violation is a DUI, which raises full coverage to $182 a month, or $953 more a year than a clean record. A speeding ticket costs $129, and an at-fault accident costs $141. Even if the other driver caused the accident, you'll be charged $4 more a month.

Bad credit in Iowa raises full coverage from $94 to $323 a month (a $229 increase), or $2,748 over a year. Your credit score affects your quote more than almost any other factor, and it's also one of the only things you can change yourself to bring the cost down.

In Iowa, a Honda Civic is the cheapest vehicle to insure for full coverage at $105 a month, while the Tesla Model Y is the priciest at $186. Sedans stay affordable too. The Honda Accord costs $110 and the Toyota Camry costs $118. The Tesla Model 3, at $156, costs $38 more than that same Camry, even though both are four-door cars. EV battery packs and sensors cost more to fix after a storm and need specialized technicians, and Iowa gets a lot of hail damage.

Credit score and driving record cause the two biggest rate changes in Iowa. On top of a clean record, bad credit adds $229 a month, and a DUI adds $79. Iowa law also lets injured drivers claim money even when they're partly to blame for a crash, and that raises liability costs for every driver, clean record or not.

Progressive and GEICO both cost $78 a month for full coverage in Iowa, so if you're comparing those two, it's not the price that will help you decide. To see which insurer has the best value for your situation, compare the cheapest and best car insurance in Iowa.

We used this profile to determine auto insurance costs across all available ZIP codes and cities in Iowa:

• 40 years old
• Clean driving record
• Good credit
• 2012 Toyota Camry LE

Sections on cost by age and driving record use rates for those driver profiles, with all other factors held constant.

Minimum coverage is a state's minimum liability coverage. Full coverage is a policy with 100/300/100 liability limits and a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage.