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New cars cost an average of $48,841 in 2025. Prices fell $6,823 (12.3%) in real terms from 2021's COVID-driven peak, when chip shortages and supply chain disruptions pushed prices to artificial highs. MoneyGeek analyzed seven years of Kelley Blue Book data to show how the market corrected from pandemic distortions.
Sticker prices jumped 30% since 2018. In 2025 dollars, that 30% increase shrinks to 1.9%. Fuel, maintenance and car insurance all affect what buyers pay over time.
The $48,841 average masks a four-year decline in real prices. When MoneyGeek converted historical prices to 2025 dollars, we found the real peak happened in 2021 at $55,664, not 2024's nominal high of $49,740.
Year | Sticker Price | Price in 2025 Dollars | Real Change |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | $48,841 | $48,841 | ↓ -3.8% |
2024 | $49,740 | $50,785 | ↑ +0.1% |
2023 | $48,247 | $50,710 | ↓ -6.5% |
2022 | $49,507 | $54,218 | ↓ -2.6% |
2021 | $47,077 | $55,664 | ↑ +14.5% |
2020 | $39,259 | $48,602 | ↓ -0.4% |
2019 | $38,948 | $48,797 | ↑ +1.8% |
2018 | $37,577 | $47,938 | -- |
*Historical data from 2018 to 2024 uses December figures for year-end consistency. The 2025 figures, the most recent available, reflect July.
The $48,841 average assumes all vehicles sell equally. They don't. Adjusting for actual sales volume puts the figure at $47,800.
The difference comes down to two calculations:
The $1,041 gap reflects buyer preference for affordable models. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V lead sales at $36,517, while luxury vehicles above $75,000 move in much lower volumes.
July 2025 volume data: 9.5 million units sold (up 3.9% year-over-year). Light trucks and SUVs accounted for 82.3% of sales (up 6.5% year-over-year). The RAV4 and CR-V, both at $36,517, paced that growth.
Market Segment | Share | Average Price | Impact on Average |
|---|---|---|---|
Compact SUVs | 15% | $36,517 | Reduces by $2,700 |
EVs | 7.8% | $52,345 | Reduces by $1,500 |
Full-Size Trucks | 12.4% | $64,790 | Increases by $8,000 |
Real car prices fell 12.3% from their 2021 peak. Cars still consume the same share of household income as they did during the pandemic.
The math:
Time-to-purchase has flatlined even as inflation eroded purchasing power in other spending categories. Median income climbed 24% nominally but only 5% after inflation since 2020. Real purchasing power for other household expenses has fallen, even though car purchases still consume the same share of income as in 2020.
The 20/4/10 rule breaks at current prices. At 10% of gross monthly income, median earners have $700 for all car costs. After insurance and fuel, $700 won't cover the $936 payment on an average new car. Full coverage adds to that gap. MoneyGeek's full coverage pricing data shows how rates vary by driver profile and vehicle type.
Average new car prices differ by $87,427 across brands: Mitsubishi starts at $32,480, and Porsche tops out at $119,907. The luxury-to-mainstream spread widened 15% since 2023.
Brand Comparison | 2021 Premium (2025 Dollars) | 2025 Premium | Real Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Honda vs. Acura | $20,883 | $11,190 | ↓ -46.4% |
Ford vs. Lincoln | $16,820 | $12,995 | ↓ -22.7% |
Chevrolet vs. Cadillac | $35,318 | $30,491 | ↓ -13.7% |
Toyota vs. Lexus | $20,488 | $18,747 | ↓ -8.5% |
Seven-month price movements show where brands are gaining pricing power and where they're losing it. Sticker prices barely moved, but inflation adjustment separates the brands that held price from those that didn't.
Brand | Nominal Change (Dec. 2024 to July 2025) | Real Change (Inflation-Adjusted) | True Market Position |
|---|---|---|---|
Mitsubishi | ↑ +18.9% | ↑ +16.5% | Only real gainer |
Toyota | ↑ +1.4% | ↓ -0.7% | Losing ground |
Infiniti | ↑ +0.1% | ↓ -1.9% | Stealth decline |
Cadillac | ↑ +0.2% | ↓ -1.9% | Stealth decline |
Ford | ↓ -1.4% | ↓ -3.4% | Accelerating losses |
Tesla | ↓ -4.2% | ↓ -6.2% | Sharp correction |
Jeep | ↓ -6.8% | ↓ -8.8% | Steep real decline |
Most Expensive New Car Brands
Porsche has the highest average price at $119,907. Land Rover ranks second at $109,087. Cadillac ($79,717), Mercedes-Benz ($74,852) and BMW ($72,548) average $75,706, about 53% above the overall market average of $48,841.
Most Affordable New Car Brands
Mitsubishi has the lowest average price at $32,480. Nissan ($34,376) and Buick ($34,567) rank second and third. Subaru ($35,906) and Kia ($36,863) complete the five most affordable brands. All five brands price below the $47,800 sales-weighted average.
Prices range from $24,061 for subcompact cars to $132,999 for high-performance vehicles. Full-size pickup trucks average $64,790.
Real prices fell, but consumer preference for SUVs over sedans keeps the industry average elevated. Individual segments cost less in real terms; the mix of what people buy works against that trend.
Midsize SUVs cost $48,650, about $15,000 more than midsize sedans at $33,524. In inflation-adjusted terms, that gap shrank 9.7% since 2018. Traditional sedans climbed faster in real terms than SUVs.
Electric vehicles add pricing volatility to the market average. Tesla prices shifted from gains to losses in 2025. In real terms, the decline was 6.2%. As EVs claim more market share, EV price movements have more pull on the overall average.
The sticker price is only part of what buyers spend. Dealer fees, add-ons, sales tax and financing all shape the final out-the-door total. MoneyGeek's total cost of ownership analysis breaks down each cost category.
The average new car price in the United States as of July 2025 is $48,841. After inflation adjustment, that's a 12.3% decrease from 2021's peak of $55,664 in 2025 dollars. Prices range from $24,061 for subcompact cars to $132,999 for high-performance vehicles. Full-size pickup trucks average $64,790.
A new car still costs seven months of median household income, the same ratio as in 2020. While real prices dropped from 2021's peak, inflation eroded purchasing power for other household expenses. Median household income grew 24% nominally but only 5% in real terms since 2020. Under the 20/4/10 rule (20% down, four-year loan, 10% of income for car expenses), median earners have $700 a month for all car costs. The average new car payment alone runs $936.
New car prices are declining in real terms. July 2025's average of $48,841 represents a 1.8% decrease from December 2024 and a 12.3% decrease from 2021's inflation-adjusted peak. Most automakers cut real prices: Jeep was down 8.8%, and Tesla was down 6.2%. Only Mitsubishi reversed course with a 16.5% real increase.
Subcompact cars are the most affordable segment, averaging $24,061. Midsize SUVs average $48,650, near the overall market average. Full-size pickup trucks average $64,790, while high-performance cars reach $132,999.
Mitsubishi has the lowest average price at $32,480. Nissan ($34,376) and Buick ($34,567) rank second and third. Porsche averages $119,907, Land Rover $109,087 and Cadillac $79,717. The $87,427 spread between the lowest- and highest-priced brands has widened 15% since 2023.
Car price headlines focus on sticker prices. The more useful measure adjusts for inflation and weights results by actual sales volume, as MoneyGeek did across seven years of pricing data.
MoneyGeek used Kelley Blue Book monthly average transaction prices, which track actual dealer sales nationwide rather than manufacturer list prices. Transaction data accounts for discounts, incentives and other market factors that sticker prices don't reflect.
MarkLines Co., Ltd. provided monthly U.S. automotive sales by manufacturer and segment. MoneyGeek matched July 2025 volume data from MarkLines with Kelley Blue Book's July transaction prices to calculate the sales-weighted average of $47,800 versus the simple average of $48,841. The $1,041 gap exists because buyers choose affordable compact SUVs over luxury sedans.
MoneyGeek collected year-end data from 2018 to 2024, then converted all prices to 2025 dollars using CPI-U (All Urban Consumers) data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A car that costs more in 2024 than 2020 may still be cheaper after inflation adjustment.
MoneyGeek multiplied each segment's average price by its sales volume, then divided by total sales. This shows what the typical buyer pays, not the mathematical average of all available vehicles. The method turned up collapsing luxury premiums, nominal price increases that obscured real declines and brand-by-brand pricing power shifts ranging from Mitsubishi's 16.5% real gain to Jeep's 8.8% real decline.
About Nathan Paulus
Nathan Paulus is Head of Content and SEO at MoneyGeek, where he leads content strategy and produces original data research across insurance, consumer costs, transportation safety, housing, public policy, and personal finance. He also reviews published studies for methodology, source quality and factual accuracy before they reach readers.
Research and Analysis
In nearly six years at MoneyGeek, Paulus has published more than 100 original studies and explanatory guides. His insurance research includes 50-state comparisons of health care outcomes, costs and access; an analysis of how uninsured rates track with state Medicaid expansion decisions and electoral patterns; full-coverage auto rate analyses across major insurers in all 50 states; and a study of how premium trends track with industry underwriting losses, with combined ratio data sourced from Fitch Ratings, AM Best and Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI figures. His research also covers vehicle pricing trends across the U.S. new car market, summer traffic fatality rates by state, homeowner underinsurance ratios using mortgage and policy data, and housing affordability across all 50 states.
His research has been cited by Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Fast Company, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and NBC Los Angeles. Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale have also referenced his work.
Career
Growing up, Paulus developed an early interest in personal finance through his grandmother, who emphasized saving over earning as the foundation of financial stability. Her framing still shows up in how he writes about money for people without a financial background.
Paulus joined MoneyGeek in July 2020 as Director of Content Marketing. In that role, he led the content team and directed data journalism production across insurance and personal finance verticals. He was promoted to Head of Marketing and Communications in December 2023, where he took on digital PR and communications strategy. He has held his current role as Head of Content and SEO since January 2025.
Before MoneyGeek, he served as Director of Content Marketing and SEO at Ventrix Advertising. There, he helped build two content sites from scratch, contributed to link-building programs that secured more than 1,500 unique referring domains within a year, and co-managed a marketing team of more than 20 people. Earlier, he spent two and a half years at ABUV Media, moving up from Marketing Research Analyst to Senior Marketing Tactics Analyst, where he built his grounding in audience research, content strategy and SEO.
