California is an expensive place to live, but some residents feel the burden of this more than others when it comes time to pay their car insurance bills.
To determine where Californians pay the most for car insurance, personal finance site NerdWallet compared premiums in cities across the state.
Santa Monica came in third on the list of most expensive cities for car insurance, with an average annual premium of $1,259.40. This is 22.2-percent higher than the state average.
Here are a few other key findings:
Cities with high car insurance rates typically have high vehicular theft rates, but this is not the case with Santa Monica. The city's theft rate is 1.95 thefts per 1,000 people, well below the state average of 4.43.
Of the 20 most expensive cities for car insurance in California, 17 are in Los Angeles County.
Rate variation is highly correlated with population density: people pay more for car insurance in densely populated areas.
People who live in cities where car repairs are expensive typically see higher premiums.
