ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — New York drivers spend the highest percentage of their income on car insurance compared to other states across the nation, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by Bankrate, analyzes the true cost of car insurance in each state to determine how much Americans are paying for car insurance. True cost, according to the study, is the percentage of an average income that is spent on full coverage car insurance.
In New York State, drivers spend an average of $3,139 on car insurance. In other words, state drivers will spend over 5% of their income on car insurance — meaning that New York has the highest true cost in the nation. The second-highest true cost in the nation is Florida, with drivers spending over 4% of their income on car insurance.
Nationally, drivers spend an average of 2.93% of their income on cars — just over 2% lower than in New York.
The state with the lowest percentage of income spent is Maine — with the average annual premium being $941 and the percentage of income spent being just over 1%.
The study attributes New York’s higher numbers to how crowded the roads are across the state — the more cars on the road, the higher the chance you are of getting into an accident.
However, there is a lot more to consider besides where you live. Other variables to consider include how clean your driving record is, how good of a credit score you have, whether or not you have a teen driver on your insurance, and what type of car you drive.