New Report Reveals the Cost of Car Ownership in the U.S.: Households Now Spending $6,900 Annually

doxoINSIGHTS 2025 Auto Reports uncover the most and least costly states and cities for car ownership, with Americans spending a combined $717 billion annually on auto loans and insurance.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Two new reports released today by doxo reveal that Americans as a whole spend $717 billion annually on Auto Loans and Auto Insurance combined. A statistical analysis of actual household payments toward Auto Loans and Auto Insurance was used to size the market and amount spent per household across 97% of U.S. zip codes. The 2025 U.S. Auto Loan Market Size and Household Spending Report and the 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Market Size and Household Spending Report found that U.S. Households with Auto Loan and Auto Insurance bills spend a median of $575 per month, or $6,900 per year.¹

The reports break out the household spending market size; percentage of households that pay each bill; and median monthly and annual bill pay costs by state, as well as the 50 largest U.S. cities (based on the number of households), and those cities with 40k or more residents.

Key findings from doxoINSIGHTS 2025 Auto Reports:

Cost of Car Ownership in the U.S.

• Americans spend a total of $717 billion a year on Auto Loans and Auto Insurance
• The median annual cost per household is $6,900 a year for both Auto Loans and Auto Insurance¹
  

Auto Loans Market Size and Household Spending

• Total Auto Loans Market Size: $478 billion per year

• Median Monthly/Annual Bill Payment: $470 per month; $5,640 per year
• Percent of Households: 61% of U.S. households pay Auto Loans

• Percent of Household Bill Pay Expense: Auto Loan bills amount to 9% of consumers’ household bill pay costs per year

Auto Insurance Market Size and Household Spending

• Total Auto Insurance Market Size: $239 billion
• Median Monthly/Annual Bill Payment: $105 per month; $1,260 per year

• Percent of Households: 80% of U.S. households pay Auto Insurance
• Percent of Household Bill Pay Expense: Auto Insurance bills amount to 2% of consumers’ household bill pay costs per year

The cost of car ownership continues to climb. Auto loan debt has reached $1.66 trillion, up $13 billion according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. Elevated interest rates, persistent inflation, and higher vehicle prices are driving expenses higher, while full-coverage auto insurance premiums have risen 12% in 2025 compared to last year.

“The financial burden of car ownership has reached a tipping point for many American families, with the average household now dedicating nearly $7,000 annually to vehicle expenses,” said Jaimie Sheridan, Head of INSIGHTS at doxo. “With inflation, high interest rates, and rising insurance costs, consumers are forced to be more strategic—whether timing a purchase, financing, or shopping for insurance. Our analysis arms consumers with the critical financial insights they need to make smarter decisions about one of their largest household expenses.”

Top 10 Most Expensive States to Own a Car

Top 10 Most Expensive Largest U.S. Cities to Own a Car

¹Median Monthly Auto Insurance Bill + Median Monthly Auto Loan Bill x 12 months per year = Median Annual Cost per U.S. Household.

²Median Monthly Auto Insurance Bill + Median Monthly Auto Loan Bill = Monthly Total

The information presented above and in the reports is derived from the doxoINSIGHTS 2025 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report, which reflects a 12-month overview of actual consumer payment data from March 2024 to March 2025. To access the latest analysis of household bill expenses, click on the state or city hyperlinks within the chart. Alternatively, you can visit www.doxo.com/w/explore and select a state to explore household bill expense data for each state, county, and city.

About doxoINSIGHTS

doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into The Bill Pay Economy™ by leveraging consumer surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. doxo data brings together the broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill payment activity, pulling from over 10 million paying consumers across over 97% of U.S. zip codes. doxo’s payment network covers over 120,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports – uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill payment behavior. Uncovering an even deeper level of insight into Americans’ cost of living, doxo’s proprietary Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI), a new feature of doxoINSIGHTS, provides a consistent basis of comparison at the state, county and city level.

About doxo

doxo delivers innovation that transforms the bill pay experience for consumers, billers and financial technology providers. For over 10M consumers, doxo’s all-in-one bill pay makes it simple to organize and pay any bill on any device through a secure checkout. For billers, doxo’s network-driven platform enables online and mobile payments with a ridiculously simple integration, radically lower costs, and game-changing features that are unavailable with legacy bill pay vendors. For fintech partners, doxo delivers financial innovations to consumers across 97% of US Zip Codes, paying from more than 8,000 financial institutions to over 120,000 billers in 45+ service categories. For employees, doxo is a creative, ever-learning team that is passionate about building fintech tools that dramatically improve the bill pay experience. For investors, doxo provides an extraordinary opportunity to invest alongside Jackson Square Ventures, MDV, and Bezos Expeditions to disrupt a market that accounts for over $4T of US Household spend. To learn more about America’s leading bill pay network, visit doxo.com.

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Source: doxo