What It Really Costs to Own 20 Popular Cars in All 51 States: Fuel, Insurance and Maintenance

By ServiceSage Auto. Published October 9, 2026; last updated October 9, 2026. Data as of: gas prices: EIA, week of Oct 5, 2026; insurance: NAIC 2023 premiums, CPI-adjusted to Aug 2026; fuel economy: EPA ratings for the model year named in each row.

Fuel is the biggest running cost of every one of these 20 cars. At 15,000 miles a year and the U.S. average of $4.35 a gallon, a year of gas costs 3.7 to 6.5 times what the same car averages in maintenance, and at 30 mpg it costs more than a year of average full-coverage insurance in 46 of the 51 states and DC. Below: how we worked it out, every car, every state, and what you can actually change.

The short answer For a 2022 Toyota Corolla 1.8L driven 15,000 miles a year, fuel plus average insurance plus average maintenance runs from $3,332 a year in Ohio to $4,872 in California. Gas is the largest of the three almost everywhere, which means the two numbers you control - the mpg of the car you buy and how many miles you drive - matter more than how cheap a car is to service.

How we calculated it

These are the same inputs our True Cost to Own calculator starts from, run for every car and every state at once. Nothing here is a survey of owners; each number is a published rate multiplied out:

• Gas: EIA's weekly retail price of regular gasoline, week of Oct 5, 2026. EIA publishes its own weekly series for only 9 states (California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington). For the other 42 jurisdictions we use the EIA regional (PADD) average and mark it "(region)", rather than invent a state figure. The prices update every week; so does this page.^[1]
• Miles: 15,000 a year, the figure EPA and DOE use for the annual fuel cost on every new-car window sticker.^[2]
• Fuel economy: each car's EPA combined rating (55% city, 45% highway) for the model year, engine and drivetrain named in the table. A different trim of the same car can differ by a few mpg.^{[2, 3]}
• Insurance: the NAIC combined average premium (liability + collision + comprehensive) for each state in 2023, raised to Aug 2026 prices with the BLS consumer price index for car insurance (x1.1847) and rounded to $10. It is a state average across all drivers and cars, not a quote for this car.^{[4, 5]}
• Maintenance: the yearly average from the maintenance-cost tables on our cost-by-year articles. Unlike the other three inputs this is our own estimate, derived from third-party cost data (CarEdge, RepairPal and Edmunds) rather than a government source, so treat it as the softest number on the page.

The "20 popular cars" are the 20 vehicles in the calculator: 14 models, with four generations of the Corolla and Civic so an owner of an older one can find theirs.

Fuel costs several times what maintenance does

At the U.S. average price, the gap is widest for the 2025 Toyota Tacoma 4WD 2.4L (gas $3,110 a year against about $480 of maintenance, 6.5x) and narrowest for the 2022 Subaru Outback 2.5L ($2,252 against $607, 3.7x). A narrow ratio here usually means a high maintenance estimate, not a frugal engine.^{[1, 3]}

Maintenance figures are ServiceSage estimates derived from CarEdge, RepairPal and Edmunds data, averaged over the first 10 years. Linked names go to that model's year-by-year cost breakdown.

What that means in practice: the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 4WD 5.3L V8 burns about $1,863 more gas a year than the 2022 Toyota Corolla 1.8L at the national price. No difference in maintenance between any two cars in the table comes close to that - the largest gap between two maintenance estimates is $413 a year. If you are choosing between two cars on running cost, compare the EPA ratings first.

At 30 mpg, gas costs more than insurance in 46 of 51

Take a car rated at 30 mpg combined (the 2022 Toyota Corolla 1.8L is rated 33) driven 15,000 miles. Its gas bill beats the state's average full-coverage premium everywhere except Florida ($2,360 insurance vs $1,985 gas), Georgia ($2,070 insurance vs $1,980 gas), Louisiana ($2,350 insurance vs $1,956 gas), New York ($2,250 insurance vs $2,190 gas), Texas ($2,050 insurance vs $1,937 gas). Those are the states where insurance, not fuel, is the bigger lever - shopping the policy is worth more there than squeezing mpg.^{[1, 4, 5]}

The NAIC itself cautions that state averages reflect differences in coverage, laws, traffic and demographics, and that "direct comparisons between state results should be treated with a high degree of caution." Your own premium depends on your record, your car, your limits and your deductible. The cheapest average premium in this data is Maine's ($1,100); the most expensive is Florida's ($2,360).^[4]

Where you live: the same truck, very different gas bills

A 2025 Toyota Tacoma 4WD 2.4L is rated at 21 mpg combined. At 15,000 miles a year it burns about $4,448 of gas in California ($6.23/gal) and $2,735 in Ohio ($3.83/gal) - $1,713 a year for the same truck driving the same miles. Both are EIA state series, not regional averages.^{[1, 3]}

This week the cheapest gas in the data is Ohio's ($3.83) and the most expensive is California's ($6.23). Prices move weekly, and so does this paragraph.^[1]

Run your own numbers Your miles, your state and the car you are actually weighing will move these numbers more than any average. The True Cost to Own calculator starts from the same EIA, NAIC and EPA figures and lets you change every one of them, then adds purchase price and resale to find the break-even year between two cars. Open the True Cost to Own calculator

A 2022 Toyota Corolla 1.8L in all 51 states

The first car in the calculator's list, ranked from cheapest to most expensive to run. Fuel is 15,000 miles at 33 mpg; insurance is the state average; maintenance is the same $362 estimate everywhere, because we have no state-level maintenance data and will not pretend to.^{[1, 4, 5, 3]}

"(region)" = EIA has no weekly series for that state; the price is its EIA region average.

What you can actually change

• Tire pressure. FuelEconomy.gov puts the gain from keeping tires at the right pressure at 0.6% on average and up to 3% in some cases, and says under-inflated tires lower gas mileage by about 0.2% for every 1 psi drop in the average pressure of all four. The right number is on the sticker in the driver's door jamb, not the maximum printed on the tire.^[6]
• The check engine light. The same page notes a lit check engine light can point to a problem that reduces fuel economy. A lean or misfire code is worth reading before it becomes a habit - see what a scanner shows for P0171.^[6]
• Insurance, in the 5 jurisdictions above where it outweighs gas at 30 mpg - and everywhere at renewal, since a state average says nothing about your quote.
• Keeping the receipts. Maintenance is the smallest of the three lines, but it is the one whose cost rises with age, and the one a buyer will ask about. A dated service log is what lets you see your real number instead of our estimate.

Tools that pay for themselves on the gas line

Checking tire pressure once a month is the cheapest fuel-economy habit there is, and most people skip it because the gas-station air pump is a hassle. These make it a two-minute job at home.

• Cordless tire inflator with auto shut-off - Set the door-jamb pressure, it stops itself. Topping up four tires cold, in the driveway, is the only way to get an accurate fill.
• Digital tire pressure gauge - Inflator gauges drift. A separate gauge to check the reading costs little and settles arguments with the TPMS light.
• TPMS sensor relearn / activation tool - If you rotate or swap wheels yourself, many cars need the sensors re-learned to their new positions or the warning light stays on. Check your owner's manual for whether yours does.

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What these numbers leave out

Depreciation, financing, sales tax, registration and parking - often the largest costs of all for a newer car - plus repairs beyond routine maintenance, tolls and tires. The calculator adds purchase price and resale; nothing here can price your loan or your registration. And every average hides a range: your mpg, your premium and your shop rate are what decide your real number.

Know your real number, not our average ServiceSage logs your fill-ups and every service with its date, mileage and cost, and emails you before the next maintenance is due. Free for up to 3 vehicles. Track my car free

References

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (weekly retail prices, regular grade) - prices used: week of Oct 5, 2026
2. FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. EPA and DOE), Learn More About the Fuel Economy Label for Gasoline Vehicles
3. FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. EPA and DOE), vehicle ratings - each row can be checked by its EPA vehicle id
4. NAIC, 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report (adopted December 2025), Table 5: combined average premium - data year 2023
5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U series CUUR0000SETE: motor vehicle insurance, U.S. city average - 2023 annual average 716.004 to Aug 2026 848.231
6. FuelEconomy.gov, Gas Mileage Tips - Keeping Your Vehicle in Shape