MonitorBankRates
☰

MBR Auto Insurance Burden Index: State Rankings - August 2026

The MBR Auto Insurance Burden Index (MBR-AIBI) measures how heavily car insurance actually weighs on each state’s households. Raw premium rankings mislead: a $1,700 premium is a rounding error for some budgets and a hardship for others. The index normalizes average premiums against each state’s median household income, with the national baseline set at 100; higher scores mean a heavier burden.

Highest Score
Louisiana
Score 165.9 · $1,743/yr · 2.87% of income
Lowest Score
New Hampshire
Score 64.7 · $915/yr · 0.92% of income
National Baseline
100
U.S. average premium $1,258/yr
High or Severe Band
10
of the 50 states and D.C. score 115 or higher

Louisiana currently carries the nation’s heaviest burden at 165.9, while New Hampshire is lightest at 64.7. 10 states score in the high or severe bands. Computed by MonitorBankRates from NAIC average premium data and U.S. Census Bureau income data.

Updated with each annual NAIC and Census data release. Rankings as of August 29, 2026.

Free Data Tools
Download the index as CSV, grab a ready-to-paste stat, or embed a live score card. Free for journalists, researchers, agents, and brokers — citation required, attribution link optional.

State-Level Burden Heatmap

Every state coloured by its car insurance burden band. Hover for the score and premium; click through to that state’s car insurance page.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming District of Columbia District of Columbia
Severe High Moderate Low

National baseline = 100. Hover any state for its score; click to open that state's page.

All 50 States and the District of Columbia Ranked by Car Insurance Burden

Each state links to its full car insurance guide with average premiums, minimum coverage requirements, and ways to lower your rate. Bands: under 85 low, 85 to 115 moderate, 115 to 140 high, 140 and up severe.

Rank State MBR-AIBI Band Avg Premium
$/yr		 % of Income Liability Avg
$/yr
1 Louisiana 165.9 Severe $1,743 2.87% $991
2 Florida 142.1 Severe $1,703 2.28% $1,152
3 New York 128.4 High $1,676 1.95% $989
4 Georgia 123.4 High $1,513 1.96% $896
5 Mississippi 123.2 High $1,232 2.18% $574
6 Michigan 120.9 High $1,429 1.96% $758
7 Rhode Island 119.1 High $1,574 1.79% $920
8 Texas 118.9 High $1,470 1.87% $691
9 South Carolina 116.3 High $1,332 1.92% $772
10 Nevada 115.1 High $1,421 1.82% $927
11 District of Columbia 108.9 Moderate $1,629 1.48% $806
12 Arkansas 107.7 Moderate $1,132 1.86% $482
13 Delaware 107.1 Moderate $1,389 1.64% $868
14 Oklahoma 106.7 Moderate $1,172 1.8% $507
15 West Virginia 105.9 Moderate $1,099 1.84% $493
16 New Mexico 105.6 Moderate $1,149 1.79% $572
17 New Jersey 105.1 Moderate $1,523 1.47% $933
18 Colorado 104.3 Moderate $1,446 1.51% $714
19 Alabama 103.7 Moderate $1,128 1.76% $529
20 Arizona 102.9 Moderate $1,287 1.61% $691
21 Kentucky 99.4 Moderate $1,078 1.69% $591
22 Connecticut 98.9 Moderate $1,374 1.43% $796
23 Missouri 97.8 Moderate $1,134 1.6% $541
24 Maryland 95.7 Moderate $1,388 1.34% $754
25 Tennessee 92.4 Moderate $1,061 1.52% $489
26 Montana 91.7 Moderate $1,080 1.49% $436
27 Pennsylvania 90.9 Moderate $1,120 1.44% $526
28 California 88.3 Moderate $1,250 1.26% $614
29 Kansas 88.0 Moderate $1,052 1.42% $437
30 Wyoming 87.0 Moderate $1,057 1.39% $359
31 Nebraska 86.3 Moderate $1,050 1.37% $434
32 Massachusetts 86.1 Moderate $1,251 1.2% $648
33 Oregon 85.1 Moderate $1,088 1.31% $670
34 South Dakota 85.0 Moderate $1,023 1.36% $343
35 Alaska 84.7 Low $1,155 1.24% $578
36 Illinois 84.2 Low $1,080 1.3% $525
37 North Carolina 84.1 Low $990 1.37% $418
38 Utah 81.6 Low $1,129 1.19% $662
39 Washington 79.9 Low $1,125 1.15% $668
40 Minnesota 79.8 Low $1,063 1.19% $502
41 Ohio 77.9 Low $909 1.27% $443
42 Indiana 77.3 Low $906 1.26% $444
43 Virginia 77.1 Low $1,055 1.13% $532
44 Iowa 75.0 Low $902 1.2% $360
45 Idaho 71.5 Low $880 1.13% $440
46 North Dakota 71.4 Low $871 1.14% $308
47 Wisconsin 71.4 Low $876 1.13% $412
48 Maine 69.6 Low $835 1.12% $394
49 Vermont 67.7 Low $854 1.05% $354
50 Hawaii 66.8 Low $952 0.95% $451
51 New Hampshire 64.7 Low $915 0.92% $444
Source: MonitorBankRates analysis of NAIC 2022 Auto Insurance Database Report average premiums and U.S. Census Bureau household income data.
Free Data Tools

Use This Data on Your Website, Article, or Social

Free for anyone to use — journalists, bloggers, real estate agents, insurance brokers, academic researchers, and universities. The index covers 51 states and the District of Columbia, computed from NAIC Auto Insurance Database Report (2022) premium data and U.S. Census Bureau household income data. Citation required, attribution link optional.

Required Citation
Source: MonitorBankRates.com

Put a live score on your site

A self-updating card that always shows the current index. Choose the national top-five view or a single state, paste one line of HTML, done.

Live preview

Methodology

What the index measures: The MBR-AIBI answers a simple question: relative to what people earn, where does car insurance strain budgets the most? A score of 100 represents the national baseline. A state scoring 140 carries a burden roughly 40% heavier than the typical U.S. driver; a state at 75 carries one roughly 25% lighter.

The two components: Each state’s score combines its ratio to the national figure on two measures: average annual auto insurance premium as a share of median household income (60% weight), which captures affordability, and the average premium relative to the national average (40% weight), which captures the absolute price level of the state’s insurance market.

Data sources: Average premiums (liability, collision, and comprehensive combined) come from the NAIC 2022 Auto Insurance Database Report average premium supplement, the standard public source for state-level auto insurance costs. Median household income comes from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (table B19013). No advertiser or carrier data is used.

Update cadence: Scores recompute with each annual NAIC premium supplement and Census income release. Because the index is a ratio against the national baseline, it is comparable across releases even as dollar premiums rise.

How to use it: Each state’s car insurance guide shows its score in context, alongside average premiums, that state’s minimum coverage requirements, and what drives local pricing. Start from the table above, or from the car insurance marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the MBR Auto Insurance Burden Index?

The MBR Auto Insurance Burden Index (MBR-AIBI) is a composite score, published by MonitorBankRates, measuring how heavily car insurance weighs on a state's households. A score of 100 equals the national baseline; higher scores mean a heavier burden. It combines the state's average auto premium as a share of median household income (60% weight) with the premium level relative to the national average (40%), using NAIC average premium data and U.S. Census Bureau income data.

Which state has the heaviest car insurance burden?

Louisiana currently carries the heaviest burden, scoring 165.9 against the national baseline of 100. Its average driver pays $1,743 per year, about 2.87% of the state's median household income. Source: MonitorBankRates analysis of NAIC and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Which state has the lightest car insurance burden?

New Hampshire currently carries the lightest burden, scoring 64.7, with a typical annual premium of $915 (0.92% of median household income). Source: MonitorBankRates analysis of NAIC and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Why measure burden instead of just average premiums?

A $1,700 premium means something very different in a state with $60,000 median incomes than in one with $100,000 incomes. By normalizing premiums against local incomes, the index shows where car insurance actually strains household budgets, which raw premium rankings hide. Louisiana and Mississippi, for example, carry far heavier real burdens than their premium ranks alone suggest.

How often is the index updated?

The index recomputes whenever its underlying inputs update: annually with each NAIC Auto Insurance Database Report average premium supplement and each Census American Community Survey income release. Scores and rankings on this page reflect the most recent data available as of August 29, 2026.

Where can I see the index for my state?

Every state row in the table links to that state's car insurance guide, which shows its MBR-AIBI score alongside average premiums, minimum coverage requirements, and ways to lower your rate.