Recently named the 10th-largest city in the U.S., Austin, Texas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.1 The average cost of car insurance in Austin is $219 per month for full-coverage insurance and $134 per month for liability-only coverage.
Austin’s car insurance rates are lower than the state averages, which are $218 and $124, respectively. While Austin may rank low on the list for size nationally, it’s the fourth-largest city in Texas with a population of more than 974,000, according to U.S. Census data. The city’s population density and urban nature likely contribute to its car insurance costs.
Specific rates vary based on your driving record, age, and more, but some car insurance companies have lower average rates than others. Here’s what you need to know about finding cheap car insurance in Austin.
Austin has a population density of more than 3,000 people per square mile, which can increase the risk of traffic accidents.
State Farm, Mile Auto, and Allstate are the cheapest car insurance companies in Austin.
Around 8.3% of drivers in Texas are uninsured.3
3 of the cheapest car insurance companies in Austin
Many car insurance companies sell coverage to drivers in Texas, but some insurers will work better for you than others. The best car insurance in Austin for you depends on your personal financial situation and coverage needs, so it’s important to shop around and compare a few insurers.
Here are some of the best car insurance companies in the city.
Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.
We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.
- Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
- Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 55,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
- Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
- Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
- Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.
Best insurer for cheap rates: State Farm
Best insurer for military personnel: USAA
Best insurer for infrequent drivers: Mile Auto
How to get the cheapest car insurance in Austin
If you’re looking for cheap car insurance in Austin, Texas, you should consider the following suggestions:
Look into company discounts. Most auto insurance companies in Austin provide a small discount to drivers who pay their annual premium up front and in full. Other common discounts reward safe drivers, good students, and loyal customers.
Take a defensive driving course. You can often get a car insurance discount for completing an approved defensive driving course.
Maintain a clean record. Having a clean driving record with no accidents, tickets, or other violations will help you get and maintain the lowest rate possible.
Bundle your policies. You can usually save money if you bundle a car insurance policy with a homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy.
Choose a high deductible. Selecting high deductibles for policies like collision or comprehensive insurance will typically result in a lower monthly premium.9 Just make sure you’re comfortable paying the deductible amount out of pocket if you need to file a claim.
Cheapest liability-only car insurance in Austin: State Farm
Liability-only car insurance covers your financial responsibilities when you cause an accident. If the other driver suffers bodily injury or property damage, your liability insurance policy will cover their medical expenses and vehicle repairs. It doesn’t cover your expenses.4
Though liability insurance is typically the cheapest policy you can get, it may not provide sufficient coverage unless you have an older vehicle.
The monthly average rate for liability coverage in Austin is $134. In the table below, you can see which car insurance companies in Austin have the lowest average quotes for liability-only insurance.
Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Austin: State Farm
Full-coverage car insurance provides more protection than a liability-only policy.
“Full-coverage policies include collision and comprehensive insurance, which cover losses like accident damage, theft, and vandalism,” says Nick Schrader, a licensed insurance agent with Texas General Insurance.
For most drivers, full-coverage auto insurance is optional. But many lenders require full coverage if you lease or finance a vehicle. You may also want to consider this policy if you have a new or valuable vehicle that would be expensive to repair or replace after a covered loss.
The average rate for full coverage in Austin is $219 per month. You can see which car insurance companies in Austin have the cheapest rates for full-coverage insurance below.
Car insurance requirements in Texas
Vehicle owners in Texas must carry the state’s minimum insurance requirements for personal liability insurance. Texas insurers must also always offer drivers personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) insurance. You can refuse these coverages in writing if you don’t want them.5
Texas is an at-fault, or tort, state. In the event of an accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance covers the other driver’s losses, including medical bills and property damage repairs.
You can find the specific Texas minimum requirements below.
Most Texas car insurance companies also offer optional auto coverages that fill gaps in your basic policy and provide more protection. Here are some of the most common endorsements that can be beneficial for drivers in Austin:
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an incident
Your driving record is one of the most significant factors affecting your car insurance premium. Drivers with an incident, like a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident, usually pay higher rates for insurance than drivers with a clean record. More serious violations, like driving while intoxicated (DWI) or reckless driving, can have an even larger effect on your premium.6
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: State Farm
If you have a speeding ticket on your record, you’ll likely pay more for car insurance. Compared to other types of violations, the rate increase after a speeding ticket is usually small. But the price of your policy after a ticket will depend on your insurance company, as well as whether you have other incidents on your record and how much you went over the speed limit.
Liability-only coverage for drivers with speeding tickets averages $160 per month in Austin, while the average for full coverage is $262. Here are the cheapest car insurance companies in Austin for drivers with a speeding ticket on their record.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an at-fault accident: State Farm
Getting into an accident can affect your car insurance premium, especially if it results in a costly claim. Even if you weren’t fully responsible for the crash, you may still see an increased rate. If you have an at-fault accident on your record, getting new insurance quotes could help you find a cheaper policy.
If you’ve been accident-three for at least three years, you may be eligible for accident forgiveness coverage, which keeps your car insurance rates steady after your first at-fault accident.
Austin drivers with at-fault accidents on their motor vehicle records face average full-coverage costs of $280 per month and liability-only rates of $171. The following companies have the cheapest auto insurance for drivers in Austin with an at-fault accident.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DWI: State Farm
A DWI is one of the most serious traffic violations. If you’re convicted of driving under the influence, you can expect to pay much more for your car insurance policy. Shopping around for new quotes can help you get a more affordable premium, but most car insurance companies charge high rates to drivers with a DWI.
In Austin, a DWI pushes average month rates to $353 for full coverage and $216 for liability-only insurance. Here are the car insurance companies with the cheapest average monthly premiums for Austin drivers with a DWI.
Cheapest car insurance for seniors: State Farm
Your age can affect your car insurance rates. Senior drivers often pay more expensive car insurance rates than middle-aged drivers. Although premiums tend to steadily decrease around the age of 35, they typically increase again for drivers around age 70.
Data shows that drivers 70 and older have higher fatal crash rates than middle-aged drivers, which could contribute to the higher cost of car insurance.7
Senior drivers in Austin see average monthly car insurance rates of $114 for liability-only coverage and $186 for full coverage. In the table below, you can see the cheapest car insurance companies in Austin for older drivers.
Cheapest car insurance for teens: State Farm
Teen drivers pay the most expensive rates for car insurance. Newly licensed young drivers have the least amount of experience on the road, and they have higher rates of accidents than older drivers.8
On average, teen drivers in Austin pay $429 for full coverage and $263 for liability-only policies.
But teen drivers can still find ways to earn a more affordable rate for car insurance. Many insurance companies offer discounts for getting good grades in school, driving a safe vehicle, being away at college, and enrolling in a safe driver rewards program. Teens can also usually get cheaper insurance if they join a parent’s car insurance policy instead of buying their own. If you’re younger than 18, you’ll need the written consent of a parent or guardian to buy your own car insurance policy.
Below, you can see which Austin car insurance companies have the cheapest average quotes for teen drivers.
Austin car insurance quotes by credit tier
In Texas, car insurance companies can use credit-based insurance scores, which means your credit score can affect your premium. Drivers with good credit scores typically pay lower rates than drivers with poor credit scores.
In the table below, you can see the average monthly full-coverage car insurance quotes in Austin based on credit tier.
Is car insurance more expensive in Austin?
Compared to the national average cost of auto insurance, Austin is more expensive. On average, U.S. drivers pay $182 per month for full-coverage insurance and $103 per month for liability coverage. The average monthly rate for car insurance in Austin is $219 for full coverage and $134 for liability coverage.
Premiums can vary depending on your state, city, and ZIP code due to factors like population density, vehicle theft rates, accident rates, and more.
More cities in Texas
Because location is one of the factors that can affect the cost of auto insurance, certain cities and ZIP codes within Texas have higher and lower rates than others. For example, the average full-coverage rate in Houston is $292, compared to the Austin average of $219.
Below, you can see the average monthly quotes for some other Texas cities.
Austin car insurance FAQs
Before deciding on a car insurance company, you should determine how much coverage you need and set your budget. The information below should help you navigate the process of finding cheap auto coverage in Austin, Texas.
How much is car insurance in Austin?
Austin drivers pay an overall average of $176 per month for car insurance. Full-coverage insurance averages $219 per month, while liability-only coverage is $134 per month. Your specific rate depends on your driving record, credit history, insurer, vehicle type, and more.
Which companies have the cheapest car insurance in Austin?
State Farm has the lowest car insurance rates in Austin, starting at $58 for liability-only policies and $90 for full coverage.
Austin drivers can also find cheap rates with Mile Auto and Allstate, which have monthly liability rates of $71 and $81, respectively.
What are the best car insurance companies in Austin?
With an Insurify Quality (IQ) Score of 9.3 and an A++ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best, State Farm is the best car insurance company in Austin. Other top insurers include GEICO, Allstate, and USAA.
Is car insurance high in Austin?
Drivers in Austin pay an overall average of $176 per month for auto coverage, which exceeds the national average of $143 per month and is similar to the Texas average of $171 per month. Still, Austin drivers pay less for coverage than residents of other Texas cities, such as including Dallas and Houston.
Is Texas a no-fault state?
No. Texas is an at-fault state. The driver responsible for the accident must cover the costs of vehicle damage and bodily injury they cause the other driver and their passengers. This includes medical expenses and vehicle repairs.