Car insurance is a necessity in all 50 states. Knowing what car to buy, and what cities or state is cheapest to insure it in, is part art and part science. I am neither a true artist nor degreed scientist, but I am willing to share with you what I have learned about inexpensive car insurance.

In terms of which cars are the cheapest to insure, a simple rule applies- the car that cost the least to buy will cost the least to insure. Yet, the cost of the car is not the only element that affects insurance rates. The cost to repair a car and how complex it is to repair it also plays an important role. If a car is relatively cheap and easy to repair, as well as inexpensive to buy, this car will have the cheapest insurance rates.

The state and city you live in also has some bearing on your cheap car insurance rates. Generally speaking, states in the Mid-west and the South have the lowest automobile insurance rates. The size of the city you live in also matters. All things being equal, small cities have lower car insurance rates than larger ones. That makes sense, because the smaller the city you live in the less likely you are to have an automobile accident.

So if you want the cheapest automobile rates possible, you need to live in a small city in the South or Mid-West, and buy a car that’s inexpensive to buy and repair.