Slide Show: The cheapest states to drive in

Owning a car is expensive. There are maintenance costs to consider, insurance to pay, and of course, gas. Several factors could affect these costs going forward. For one, if legislatures allow the Federal Highway Fund, which covers the costs of public infrastructure projects, to expire, road conditions might worsen. If the Iran deal is approved, industry experts speculate that gas prices may fall below $2 per gallon in some parts of the country by the end of the year. In other words, the stakes for car owners are higher than ever, and the cost of owning a vehicle is among the foremost concerns for the average American. 24/7 Wall St. calculated the annual operating expenses of owning a car in each state based on three measures: gas expenditure, repairs and maintenance, and insurance premiums. The cost of purchasing a vehicle was not included in the analysis.

Gas expenditure per car was calculated from average miles per gallon and annual vehicle miles traveled from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Annual car repair costs, including labor and parts, came from auto industry trends publication CarMD and the average car insurance premium in each state came from insure.com, an insurance review website. All data are as of the most recent periods available. We also reviewed the average price of gas as of July 14, 2015 in each state from AAA. The number of vehicles, vehicle registrations, miles driven, total gallons of fuel consumed, total miles traveled, persons fatally injured in motor-vehicle crashes, and the percentage of miles of road in poor condition came from the FHWA, and are for 2013. State excise taxes on gasoline came from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and are as of July 2015. All commuting figures and median earnings for individuals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

These are the least expensive states to drive a car.