Car Insurance Rates by ZIP Code (2026)

Use the ZIP code lookup below to see the average full and minimum coverage monthly and annual rates for your area, along with how your ZIP ranks for affordability compared to others in your state and nationwide.

A few things stand out from MoneyGeek's analysis of rates across more than 34,000 ZIP codes nationwide. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive ZIP code in the country is $440 per month — bigger than the entire average monthly premium for adults in most states. Rural ZIP codes dominate the cheapest end: low population density means fewer accidents, less theft and lower repair costs, all of which push rates down. Dense urban ZIP codes cluster at the expensive end for the opposite reasons: more cars, more collisions, higher repair labor costs and, in the case of Florida and Louisiana, elevated weather and litigation risk on top.

Your ZIP code affects your rate even within the same city. Two addresses a few miles apart can carry meaningfully different premiums if they fall in different rating territories — insurers draw territory boundaries and calculate insurance rates based on claims data at the street level, not the city or county level. That's why comparing quotes to find a cheap car insurance company using your exact address, not just your city, always gives you a more accurate number.

Nine of the 10 cheapest ZIP codes for car insurance in the country are in Maine, with Montpelier, Vermont (05602) rounding out the list at $69 per month and $826 per year. 

The four cheapest ZIP codes nationally are all in rural northern Maine — Bridgewater, Easton, Presque Isle and Mars Hill, all at $68 per month. These towns sit in Aroostook County, where low population density, minimal traffic and very few uninsured drivers keep rates below every other part of the country. Vermont's Montpelier makes the list for similar reasons: a small, low-density state capital with a strong driving record and minimal claims pressure.

At $68 per month, drivers in Bridgewater and Easton, Maine pay $814 to $816 per year for full coverage — less than many drivers in high-cost states pay in a single month. The cheapest ZIP in the country costs $5,284 less per year than the most expensive.

The most expensive ZIP code in the country is 70117 in New Orleans, Louisiana, at $508 per month for full coverage — $6,098 per year. Florida and Louisiana hold all 10 spots between them, with West Palm Beach, Tampa, Hialeah and Miami Gardens appearing alongside three New Orleans ZIP codes. These South Florida and Louisiana ZIP codes carry rates this high because of a combination of hurricane exposure, high rates of uninsured drivers, frequent litigation and above-average vehicle theft.

West Palm Beach's 33405 and 33407 ZIP codes are the second and third most expensive in the country at $473 and $457 per month. Tampa's 33604 follows at $447 per month. These South Florida ZIP codes carry rates this high because of a combination of hurricane exposure, high rates of uninsured drivers, frequent litigation and above-average vehicle theft — factors that affect every insurer writing policies in those territories.

Where you live may be one of the biggest reasons why your car insurance is so expensive. 

Insurers set rates at the ZIP code level because risk varies block by block, not just state by state. Five factors drive most of the variation: population density, weather conditions, litigation environment, uninsured driver rates and crime rates. 

• Population density — more cars on the road means more collisions, and more collisions mean more claims.
• Weather exposure — ZIP codes in hurricane-prone coastal areas of Florida and Louisiana carry significantly higher comprehensive coverage costs because storm damage claims are frequent and expensive.
• Litigation environment — states with large jury verdicts and frequent lawsuits over auto accidents push up liability rates across all ZIP codes in that state, but especially in urban ones.
• Uninsured driver rates — when a high share of local drivers carry no insurance, insured drivers pay more through uninsured motorist coverage costs that get priced into every policy written in that territory.
• Crime — ZIP codes with higher rates of vehicle theft generate more comprehensive claims, raising rates for everyone parked there, including drivers who have never had a claim themselves.

The within-state spread between the cheapest and most expensive ZIP code is the clearest way to see how much location matters independent of state-level factors. New York has the largest intra-state spread in the country: $357 per month, or $4,284 per year, between its cheapest ZIP code ($69/month) and its most expensive ($426/month).

Louisiana has the second-largest spread at $342 per month ($4,104/year), and Florida the third at $326 per month ($3,912/year). Michigan ($265/month, $3,180/year) and Nevada ($259/month, $3,108/year) round out the top five states with the widest within-state variation. These are all states where a small number of extremely high-cost urban ZIP codes pull the top end far above the state average.

At the other extreme, the District of Columbia has zero intra-state spread — it's a single urban territory with one rating environment. Vermont ($7/month spread), Wyoming ($8/month) and Maine ($17/month) have the smallest spreads among the 50 states, meaning that where you live within those states barely affects your rate.

State averages tell only part of the story. Within Florida, California, Michigan and Texas — four of the most-searched states for ZIP code rate data — the difference between the cheapest and most expensive ZIP codes ranges from $198 to $326 per month. We analyzed the 10 cheapest and 10 most expensive ZIP codes in each state.

Florida averages $218 per month for full coverage, the second most expensive state in the country. But the statewide average masks a range that runs from $147 per month in the rural Florida Panhandle to $473 per month in West Palm Beach — a $326 monthly difference, or $3,912 per year, entirely within state lines.

The cheapest ZIP codes are concentrated in the rural northwest corner of the state: Ponce de Leon, Bonifay, Caryville, Cottondale and a cluster of small Panhandle towns all average $147 to $148 per month. These areas have low population density, minimal traffic and almost none of the coastal weather exposure that drives up South Florida rates. The most expensive ZIP codes are in South Florida's urban core — West Palm Beach, Tampa, Hialeah and Miami — where storm risk, litigation frequency and uninsured driver rates all push costs well above the state average.

California averages $139 per month for full coverage — well below Florida and Louisiana, but with a wide internal range that runs from $101 per month in Weed (96094) to $299 per month in North Hollywood (91606), a $198 monthly gap. California bans the use of credit scores in insurance pricing, which compresses the range somewhat compared to states that allow it, but location still creates a nearly three-fold difference between the cheapest and most expensive ZIP codes.

The cheapest ZIP codes are in far northern California — Siskiyou and Trinity counties, along with the Central Coast town of Cambria, Humboldt County's Trinidad and the Eastern Sierra town of Bishop. These areas are rural, low-traffic and far from the dense urban rating territories that drive up rates in Los Angeles. The most expensive ZIP codes are in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles: North Hollywood's 91606 tops the state at $299 per month, followed by two Glendale ZIP codes. Burbank and Granada Hills also appear in the top 10, all of them dense suburban communities with high vehicle density and significant theft exposure.

Michigan averages $128 per month for full coverage, but its intra-state spread of $265 per month is the fourth largest in the country — a product of Detroit's extremely high rates sitting alongside some of the most affordable ZIP codes in the Midwest. St. Joseph (49085) on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan averages $98 per month, the cheapest ZIP in the state. Detroit ZIP codes occupy all 10 spots on the most expensive end, ranging from $296 to $363 per month.

Detroit's rates reflect a set of compounding factors: dense urban traffic, high vehicle theft rates, a history of extremely high personal injury protection (PIP) costs under Michigan's previous unlimited PIP mandate, and ongoing litigation exposure. Michigan reformed its no-fault insurance law in 2019 with changes taking effect in 2020, which has reduced PIP costs for many drivers, but Detroit ZIP codes remain among the most expensive in the country. The cheapest ZIP codes — clustered along the western Michigan shoreline, in the Upper Peninsula and including Mackinac Island (49757) — benefit from low density, minimal theft and none of the urban claims pressure that defines Detroit's rating environment.

Texas averages $148 per month for full coverage, but rates run from $110 per month in Marfa (79843) — a remote West Texas town near Big Bend — to $259 per month in Houston's 77071 ZIP code, a $149 monthly range. The cheapest ZIP codes in Texas are almost entirely in the Trans-Pecos region of far West Texas: Marfa, Alpine, Fort Davis, Presidio and a handful of other small towns where there are few cars, few accidents and no urban claims pressure.

The most expensive ZIP codes are concentrated in Houston, which holds nine of the top 10 spots. Dallas's 75216 is the only non-Houston entry in the most expensive group at $252 per month. Houston's high rates reflect dense traffic in one of the country's largest metro areas, frequent severe weather including hail and flooding, and a litigation environment that pushes up liability costs. Mesquite (75149), a Dallas suburb, rounds out the top 10 at $238 per month.

You can't change how insurers rate your ZIP code, but you can control how much you pay above your location's baseline. These strategies deliver the most consistent savings regardless of where you live.

The gap between the cheapest and most expensive insurer for the same driver in the same ZIP code is often as large as the gap between ZIP codes in many states. Each insurer files its own rate tables by territory, so one company's expensive ZIP code may be another's average-priced one. Getting quotes from at least three insurers before every renewal is the single most reliable way to avoid overpaying, and the savings are largest in high-cost ZIP codes where the base rate is already elevated.

A violation adds a percentage surcharge on top of whatever your ZIP code already costs. In an expensive ZIP code, that percentage lands on a higher base — a 25% speeding ticket surcharge on a $400/month premium adds $100/month, while the same surcharge on a $100/month premium adds $25. In high-cost ZIP codes, keeping a clean record is worth even more in absolute dollar terms than it is in cheap ones.

Full coverage makes financial sense when a vehicle's value is high relative to the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage. In expensive ZIP codes, full coverage premiums are higher, which means the breakeven point shifts — a car that barely justifies full coverage in Maine almost certainly doesn't justify it in West Palm Beach or New Orleans at two to three times the premium. Dropping collision and comprehensive on a paid-off vehicle with low resale value can save several hundred dollars per year in high-rate ZIP codes.

Insurers price ZIP codes based on average risk in that territory, but usage-based programs let you opt out of some of that pricing by proving you drive less or more safely than the average person in your ZIP. In high-density urban ZIP codes where the average driver clocks a lot of miles in heavy traffic, a low-mileage discount or telematics program can generate savings that wouldn't be available to drivers in rural ZIP codes where low usage is already assumed.