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Car insurance rates jump 26% across the U.S. in 2024, report shows
Having a car is getting more expensive for drivers in some states as auto insurance premiums continue to soar.
According to a new Bankrate report, U.S. drivers are paying an average of $2,543 annually, or $212 per month, for car insurance, an increase of 26% from last year. That’s 3.41% of yearly earnings for those with an salary of $74,580, which is the national median household income according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Auto insurance rates have been rising at a breakneck pace,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. “And though the pace of increases will eventually slow, that doesn’t mean premiums are coming down.
Bankrate’s report looks at car insurance costs as a percentage of household income throughout the U.S., to determine the true cost of auto insurance.
What’s driving the surge in car insurance prices?
In addition to inflation, there are other factors beyond a driver’s control, such as weather and population density, that play a large factor on the price of their insurance. For this reason, car insurance rates are greatly affected by where a person lives, the report finds.
Across the country, auto insurance costs have continued to climb over the past few years as natural disasters have become a greater threat to drivers and as vehicles prove more costly to repair and replace. That said, the states where the true cost of car insurance appears to be highest are those frequently slammed by natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
In Louisiana and Florida, for example, where severe weather events have become increasingly common over the past several years, drivers are forking over the largest share of their paychecks toward their car insurance than drivers in any other state — an average of 6.53% and 5.69% respectively.
Auto insurance premiums take the smallest bite out of household incomes for drivers in Massachusetts, where state law prohibits the use of age as a rating factor for setting premiums, according to Bankrate. Customers in the Bay State on average pay just 1.76% of their income toward insuring their vehicles.
Missouri saw the largest increase in insurance premium prices this year, according to Bankrate: Drivers in the Show-Me State are spending an average of $2,801 per year on auto insurance in 2024, a whopping 40% more than what they shelled out for coverage last year.
Drivers in one state actually saw premiums drop this year. The cost of insuring a vehicle in Wyoming fell $1 from 2023 to 2024, resting at $1,581 a year, Bankrate analysts found.
Still, the cost of auto insurance is likely to continue to rise throughout the country as “extreme weather, poor driving habits and high repair costs … continue to impact rates,” the report reads.
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.
