DRIVING EXPENSES

Owning a car isn’t cheap anywhere, as costs for fuel, insurance, and repairs rise, said Wenqian Zhu in CNN.com. But where you drive can make a big difference in your wallet. A new report found that Georgia is the nation’s costliest state for car owners, who pay $2,000 more per year there than they would driving the same car in Oregon, “the nation’s cheapest state” for drivers. Costs are higher in Georgia largely because of steep car sales taxes and registration fees, which also contribute to high ownership costs in California, Wyoming, Rhode Island, and Nevada. Sprawl and insufficient public transportation also translate into longer commuting times in those states, driving up gas costs. Residents of big cities like New York pay more for car insurance, but often pay less overall than suburban and rural drivers because they do less driving.