Where Car Loans Hurt the Most: The 10 U.S. States With the Highest Yearly Auto Costs

Getting around in America is getting pricey.

Here's a closer look at where drivers are paying the most to finance their wheels.

The national picture

The average American with a car loan spends about $5,680 a year on payments, plus roughly $517 in interest.

That adds up to about $6,197 a year.

It also works out to 12.4% of the average disposable income, which is more than the 10.6% Americans spend on food.

The 10 states with the highest yearly auto loan costs

These figures combine average yearly loan payments with estimated yearly interest, based on Q4 2024 data.

• 1. Texas: $7,920 in loan payments + $767 in interest = $8,687
• 2. Louisiana: $6,890 + $701 = $7,591
• 3. New Mexico: $6,780 + $643 = $7,423
• 4. Georgia: $6,530 + $683 = $7,213
• 5. Florida: $6,560 + $618 = $7,178
• 6. North Dakota: $6,630 + $538 = $7,168
• 7. Mississippi: $6,470 + $685 = $7,155
• 8. Arkansas: $6,330 + $601 = $6,931
• 9. West Virginia: $6,320 + $565 = $6,885
• 10. Alabama: $6,220 + $634 = $6,854

A closer look at the top three

Texas tops the list at $8,687 a year, or roughly $720 a month.

That's $4,201 more than Hawaii, the lowest-cost state in the analysis.

Louisiana comes in second at $7,591 a year, or about $630 a month.

New Mexico is third at $7,423, nearly 20% above the national average of $6,197.

Cost isn't the whole story

A high loan bill hits harder when paychecks are smaller.

Integra Credit also measured how much of disposable income goes to car loans. These three states stood out:

• New Mexico: 17.3%
• Mississippi: 16.6%
• Louisiana: 16.4%

Texas ranks fourth on that measure at 15.7%, since higher incomes soften the blow.

Who's falling behind?

Mississippi had the highest rate of missed auto loan payments in Q4 2024, at 7.12%.

The national rate was 4.8%.

Georgia (6.76%), Alabama (6.48%) and Louisiana (6.28%) also ran well above average.

Where car loans are easiest on the wallet

Some states have far lighter car-payment burdens.

Massachusetts spends the smallest share of disposable income on car loans, at 7.9%. Washington follows at 8.4%.

Higher incomes and smaller loans help keep those numbers down.

Tips to keep your car loan in check

Integra Credit, a lender, offers three practical pointers:

• Budget first: Keep auto expenses under 15% of disposable income.
• Automate: Set up automatic payments so a due date never slips by.
• Speak up early: Contact your lender if money gets tight, before payments are missed.

A few things to keep in mind

The loan figures reflect Q4 2024 data, even though the original headline refers to 2026.

Interest amounts are estimates built from averaged new- and used-car rates.

The analysis also doesn't separate new from used cars or account for differences in borrowers' credit.

Sources

1. Olya, G. (October 12, 2026). 10 States With the Highest Auto Loan Costs in 2026 — Up to Nearly $9K a Year. Yahoo Finance, provided by MoneyLion.
2. Integra Credit. (August 5, 2026). America's Car Loan Crisis.
3. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Center for Microeconomic Data (no publication date). Household Debt and Credit data, the source Integra Credit cites for state-level Q4 2024 auto loan and delinquency figures.
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (no publication date). Share of Personal Income Spent on Food, the source Integra Credit cites for the food-spending comparison.

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