SHARE

By of the

Wisconsin drivers pay the fifth-lowest annual costs in the nation to operate a car, a report released Monday says.

Wisconsin car owners pay an average of $2,018 to operate a motor vehicle, according to Bankrate.com's car ownership cost survey. The survey combined average repair, insurance and gasoline costs to come up with the overall average.

The national average was $2,223, about 9% more than in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin auto insurance premiums were third-lowest in the United States, at $658 on average, according to Bankrate. That's 38% less than the typical U.S. motorist pays.

Auto repairs averaged $329 in Wisconsin, and gasoline cost was $1,031, the survey found.

Bankrate said it analyzed the cost of gas, repairs and insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Labor and parts data were provided by CarMD.com, while gas spending was calculated with statistics from GasBuddy.com and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Insurance costs were compiled from National Association of Insurance Commissioners statistics.

Wyoming is the most expensive state to operate a car, at an average of $2,705 a year, and Iowa, at $1,942, is the cheapest, Bankrate said.

While Wyoming has below-average costs for car repairs, gas prices and insurance, drivers there pay more for gas — an average $1,588 per year — because they drive more than motorists in other states, Bankrate said.

One major reason Iowa is the cheapest place to operate a vehicle is low insurance costs, at an average of $630 a year.