Comprehensive analysis from doxo reveals that the baseline cost of keeping a vehicle on the road now hits a combined $7,140 annually per household. The company released its 2026 U.S. Auto Loan & Auto Insurance Market Spending Reports, which frame the true, combined cost of vehicle ownership by analyzing financing and insurance expenses. While public attention frequently focuses on volatile gas prices, the latest data from doxoINSIGHTS reveals that the true, fixed financial pressure of owning a car comes from these two recurring expenses.

The 2026 reports indicate that the average American household with automotive obligations pays a combined median of $595 per month toward Auto Loans and Auto Insurance. In total, these two categories command a $754 billion slice of the broader $5.03 trillion U.S. Bill Pay Economy. Elevated vehicle prices and compounding interest rates on the financing side, paired with a sharp, multi-year surge in full-coverage insurance rates, have combined to create a compounding financial squeeze.

"A car loan and an insurance bill are often budgeted separately, but together they make up the true cost of car ownership," said Steve Shivers, Co-Founder and CEO of doxo.

Market Size and Household Spending

The reports provide a detailed breakdown of the market size and household spending for both categories. Auto Loans represent a larger portion of the expense, with a total market size of $492 billion per year. The median monthly bill payment for auto loans is $485, or $5,820 per year, and 62% of U.S. households pay these bills. Auto loan bills amount to 10% of consumers' household bill pay costs per year.

Auto Insurance accounts for a total market size of $261 billion. The median monthly bill payment is $110, or $1,320 per year, with 80% of U.S. households paying for auto insurance. These bills amount to 5% of consumers' household bill pay costs per year.

Geographic Variations in Costs

The cost of car ownership varies significantly by location. New Hampshire is the most expensive state for the total cost of car ownership, with a median monthly combined auto bill of $713. Massachusetts follows at $671, Texas at $669, and California at $668.

Among cities, San Jose, CA, has the highest median monthly combined auto bill at $918. Birmingham, AL, follows at $899, and New York, NY, at $886. Dallas, TX, and Jacksonville, FL, also rank among the top 10 most expensive cities for vehicle ownership costs.

Individual category medians may not sum exactly to the "Median Monthly Combined Auto Bill" total due to independent rounding calculations applied across the dataset to maintain precision.

US retail sales rose 0.9% month-on-month in May, surpassing market estimates and indicating resilient consumer spending. The actual figure topped the consensus estimate of 0.5% and marked an acceleration from the revised 0.4% growth registered in April. On a year-on-year basis, retail sales grew 6.90%, compared to the prior reading of 4.87%. Additionally, the Retail Control group, which excludes food services, automobiles, building materials, and gasoline, rose 0.8%, exceeding the 0.6% estimate and the prior 0.5% reading.

Key Data at a Glance

The following table summarises the May retail sales data against prior and estimated figures:

Performance Against Expectations

The May retail sales figure of 0.9% exceeded the market estimate of 0.5%, while also outpacing the previous month's reading of 0.4%. The Retail Control group's performance of 0.8% also surpassed expectations of 0.6%, indicating a pickup in month-on-month consumer spending momentum compared to the prior period. The year-on-year growth of 6.90% further highlights the strength in consumer spending relative to the prior year's 4.87% increase.