Where you live often plays a large role in what kind of vehicle you buy — convertibles aren’t big sellers in Alaska. However, a closer examination of the variables that do make owning a vehicle a great experience show that Kansas is the best place to be driving day in and day out.
Where’s the best place to own and drive a vehicle in the U.S.? Kansas claims WalletHub.com.
A recent study by WalletHub.com analyzed 31 factors that impact the bottom line of car owners, and it determined that Kansas was the top state with Idaho, Indiana, Iowa and Oklahoma rounding out the top five spots.
“Owning a car can really squeeze your wallet if you’re not in the right location,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst.
“On top of having pricey gas, maintenance and insurance expenses, some states can hurt you even more financially with excessive traffic congestion, which wastes both your fuel and your productivity. The best states to drive in are ones that are relatively rural, with smaller populations, a low cost of living, well-maintained roads and safe motorists.”
Things to know
Some of the issues they examined included road congestion, road conditions, weather and more. For example, the average motorist paid $771 in 2024 due to congestion — they spent an average of 43 hours annually sitting in traffic.
In fact, the top five places where you can expect to spend time — by percentage — in rush-hour traffic congestion are West Virginia, North Dakota, Maine, Mississippi, and New Mexico.
Weather plays a role in vehicle ownership, and who wants to be stuck in the rain or snow. Californians — as we’ve been reminded due to the raging wildfires there recently — had the fewest days with precipitation in 2024.
It was followed by Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Meanwhile, New Hampshire drivers dealt with the most precipitation follow by Hawaiians and West Virginians.
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The best spots
A review of the top spots will show some commonalities, but also a few differences. Kansas took the top spot because of the quality and safety of its roads. It doesn’t hurt that the state is extremely flat, but the roads are also well-maintained and Kansas drivers apparently look out for one another.
“Drivers also stay relatively well-behaved, as the Sunflower State has the sixth-lowest prevalence of speeding, along with relatively few drivers who accelerate aggressively or brake harshly,” WalletHub noted, adding that car ownership costs are relatively low. Gas prices, maintenance costs, operating costs and more were all within the top 12 states.
Second-place Idaho grabbed the spot due to the reduction in traffic deaths in recent years, falling 20%. Idahoans apparently aren’t in any hurry to get anywhere either as they have fifth-lowest prevalence of speeding as well as well-maintained roads. All this combines to give them the fifth-lowest average for car insurance costs.
Much like Kansas, extremely flat Indiana finished third due to impressive road quality results (second) and road safety figures (fourth-best). Also, you don’t have to worry about finding a gas station in the Hoosier state as it has the 10th-most gas stations per capita in the country.
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