Looking for Cheap, Low-stress Car Ownership? Head to the Cornfields

If it wasn’t for the blissful autonomy and convenience that comes with car ownership, how many people would want to shoulder the ever-growing cost? Insurers lie in wait to squeeze you, law enforcement waits to punish you, environmental groups demonize your lifestyle, and governments at all levels salivate at the thought of making it more expensive to own a personal vehicle.

Meanwhile, you dance to the tune set by oil companies and geopolitics, weathering financial blows when pump prices rise. If only there was a place where those worries fell away — where the act of owning and driving a car wasn’t as stressful.

As it turns out, this place exists. And it’s just west of the Mississippi.

According to a study by Bankrate.com, the easiest place to own a car sits smack in the center of the union. Frustrated drivers, get thee to the Hawkeye State.

The financial services company has declared Iowa as the least-expensive, least-dangerous state in which to own a vehicle, based on average insurance premiums, gas prices, commute times, car repair costs, vehicle theft rate, and road fatalities. It’s like heaven for vehicles, only with miles and miles of corn.

To make its ranking, Bankrate tapped data from the census, FBI, CarMD, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By a not-too-small degree, Iowa won. Out of a possible 60 points, the state landed a score of 48, far above the national average of 34.6.

Drivers in Iowa commute an average of 19 minutes, and spend a low $648 each year on insurance coverage. An average repair sets an Iowan back $358. While several states spend less on gas and have lower theft rates — as well as slightly lower roadway deaths — it all averaged out in the state’s favor. That sound you hear is contentment emanating from Davenport to Des Moines.

Rounding out the top five states are Ohio, Maine, Wisconsin and Vermont. Naturally, California ranks dead last at 21 points, but few residents would trade the higher average costs and longer commutes for the weather “enjoyed” by the top-ranked states. New Mexico came in second last, while Nevada, Louisiana and Wyoming filled out the bottom five.

It’s true that the study’s methodology paints an inaccurate for many car owners. With its higher median income and greater proportion of luxury vehicles, an average repair in California would naturally ring in higher than one a less populous, less prosperous state. As well, we all know that Californian cities are magnets for car thieves. With a carefully chosen lifestyle and some luck, a driver can escape much of the pain that comes from living in a low-ranked state. (But not the weather.)

[Image: Don Graham/ Flickr ( CC BY-SA 2.0)]