Average Cost of Car Insurance in Washington for 2026

Washington drivers pay $188 less per year than the national average for full coverage and $128 less for minimum coverage. In Washington, full coverage runs $109 per month and minimum coverage runs $50 per month, a range that sits below what drivers pay in 31 other states.

Your rate within Washington depends on your city, age, driving record, coverage level and which insurer you choose. Although you can't do much to change your location or age, your coverage level and insurance company are the two factors you can act on today to lower your premium.

Minimum liability in Washington is $51 per month. The standard full coverage benchmark (100/300/100 liability with a $1,000 comprehensive/collision deductible) comes in at $109 per month in Washington. 

Lowering your deductible costs more than raising liability limits — the jump from a $1,000 deductible to a $0 deductible adds $58 per month, while the jump from minimum liability limits to 100/300/100 limits adds $44 per month.

Kent drivers pay $149 per month for full coverage, $47 more per month than Spokane Valley, the most affordable city among Washington's largest. Kent's rates are driven by dense traffic on Highway 167, frequent accidents and vehicle theft rates concentrated in Seattle's southern suburbs. Tacoma is the second most expensive city at $141 per month, and Spokane comes in as the second most affordable at $110 per month.

If your quote in Kent is above $149 per month with a clean driving record, the company you're using is the variable to address — not your coverage level.

Washington does penalize not-at-fault accidents; the average $4 monthly increase means an incident outside your control costs $52 per year. A speeding ticket adds $28 per month ($337 per year) over a clean record, and an at-fault accident pushes premiums up by $50 per month ($604 per year). A DUI in Washington reaches $164 per month, a $658 annual increase over the $109 clean-record rate.

Violations in Washington affect rates for three to five years, depending on the violation type. Re-shopping at the three-year mark often results in a rate reduction before your current insurer offers one automatically. Multiple violations can push you into high-risk car insurance in Washington, narrowing your carrier options.

Good credit brings full coverage to $108 per month; bad credit pushes it to $266. That's a $1,896 annual difference that is larger than the full annual cost of minimum coverage ($598 per year). 

Washington permits insurers to use credit-based scoring when setting premiums, so improving your credit score is the one action that reduces your premium without changing your coverage at all. Lower-income drivers in Washington can pair credit improvement with rate shopping to reduce costs from both directions.

Vehicle type is another factor that sets your insurance rate across all 50 states. At $132 per month, the Ford F-150 is the cheapest vehicle to insure in Washington among those we tracked; a Honda Civic comes in at $140 per month, $8 above the F-150. Full coverage on a Tesla Model Y costs $198 per month in Washington — $66 more per month than a Ford F-150, adding $792 per year. 

EV repair costs are higher because parts, battery systems and advanced sensors require specialized technicians, and Washington's wet climate can accelerate corrosion in EV components. Check insurance costs by vehicle before buying to account for total ownership cost.

Credit score and driving record move Washington premiums more than any other factor. Bad credit adds $158 per month over good credit, and a DUI adds $55 per month over a clean record. Washington's mandatory PIP requirement adds $200 to $400 per year to every policy in the state before any of these individual factors are applied.

The lowest rate comes from the company whose pricing model fits your specific profile. Your age, location, driving record and vehicle each shift how insurers weigh your risk. Comparing at least three quotes gives you the greatest chance of finding savings. Read more about the cheapest and best car insurance companies in Washington.

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

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

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

Minimum coverage is Washington'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.