Page published October 27, 2026
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The teen pages on this site assume a teen living at home, with one insurance line and no campus parking. College breaks that assumption. A student who leaves home faces a different choice, different insurance figures, and a parking line the teen pages never had. This page prices that choice, on published Insurance.com 2026 figures and named campus parking examples, not on a national parking average, because no national parking average was found.
The three way fork
Every college car decision is one of these three. The lines that change with the fork are insurance and campus parking. The car price, if a car is bought, is the same in the first two forks, so it is left out of the fork comparison table and put back in the worked example below.
| Fork | What changes | Insurance plus parking, age 19 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Car stays home | Student is an occasional driver at home on breaks. Away discount may apply. | $3,572 |
| 2. Car goes to campus | Garaging address changes. Campus parking is a new line. Student drives the car regularly. | $5,984 |
| 3. No car at all | No car to buy, park, fuel, or keep up. Student must still be listed if driving family cars regularly at home. | $0 in this example |
Fork 1 is the Insurance.com parent policy student cost with the away discount, $3,572 for a 19 year old, plus $0 campus parking. Fork 2 is the published solo policy figure for a 19 year old, $5,718, plus the UMass Dartmouth parking example, $266, for $5,984. $5,984 minus $3,572 equals $2,412. That $2,412 is the fork gap for insurance plus parking alone, before gas and upkeep, which depend on miles driven. Fork 3 is $0 for car costs in this example, with the listing warning above, because a student with no car and no regular driving at home has no car bill to price.
Two conditions gate fork 1. The away discount requires school more than 100 miles away and no vehicle with the student. If either condition fails, fork 1 is not available, and the $3,572 figure does not apply. Tell the insurer where the car is garaged and where the student lives. A garaging address that is wrong on the policy is a claim problem waiting to happen, not a saving.
Insurance by age: solo policy against a parent policy with the away discount
These figures are Insurance.com 2026, updated August 14, 2026. Method: full coverage 100/300/100, $500 deductibles, Honda Accord LX, clean record, good credit, 10,000 annual miles. Parent policy figures add the student to a 40 year old driver. They are national averages, not quotes, and your state, insurer, car, and record will move them.
| Age | Solo policy per year | Parent policy with away discount, student cost per year | Solo minus away figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | $7,498 | $3,792 | $3,706 |
| 19 | $5,718 | $3,572 | $2,146 |
| 20 | $5,173 | $3,288 | $1,885 |
| 21 | $4,215 | $2,866 | $1,349 |
Two patterns matter. First, solo cost falls steeply with age, from $7,498 at 18 to $4,215 at 21, a drop of $3,283. Second, the gap between solo and the away figure shrinks with age, from $3,706 at 18 to $1,349 at 21. The fork matters most at 18, when the student is youngest and the solo price is highest. By 21 the fork gap is still real, but it is less than half the age 18 gap.
A conflict to disclose, not settle: how big is the away discount?
Insurance.com own pages disagree on the average size of the away discount, so this page shows both instead of picking one. The college page puts the average saving at 16%. The discounts page puts the average at 11%, with State Farm as high as 25%. The same kind of disagreement shows up for the good student discount: 14% on the college page and 12% on the discounts page, with a 3.0 grade point average commonly required and availability up to age 25. Do not budget on either average alone. The dollar figures in the table above are the published age figures, and they are the safer planning numbers, because they are dollars, not discount percentages applied to an unknown base price. Ask the insurer for the student cost in dollars on your own policy, with and without the car at school.
Campus parking: examples only, never an average
No national average campus parking figure was found, so none is invented here. These are named school examples, checked at build, and your school price replaces every one of them. A permit that looks cheap can still be the wrong permit if it only covers a shuttle lot far from where the student lives.
| School example | Permit | Price per year |
|---|---|---|
| University of South Carolina | Resident undergraduate | $150 |
| University of South Carolina | Commuting undergraduate | $125 |
| University of South Carolina | Garage or reserved lot | $880 |
| UMass Dartmouth | Annual student permit | $266 |
| University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Student 12 month permit | $960 |
| University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Shuttle lot | $143 |
The range inside one school is the lesson. At South Carolina, a garage permit at $880 costs $730 more than a resident permit at $150. At Illinois, the 12 month permit at $960 costs $817 more than the shuttle lot at $143. Parking is not one line to guess at. It is a choice between lots, and the lot the student can actually use is the price that counts. Some schools also limit whether first year students may have a car on campus at all, so check that rule before buying a car for a campus that will not park it.
Worked example: a 19 year old takes a car to campus, first year
Stated inputs, all in one place. Car: a $10,000 used car, bought outright, no loan, so no payment and no loan interest in this total. This is a different car price from the teen pages, which use a $12,000 car, and a different mileage basis: 10,000 miles a year, the Insurance.com basis, not the teen pages 7,624 miles. Insurance path: solo policy for a 19 year old, $5,718 a year, from the table above. The away discount figures do not apply here, because the car is with the student, so this example does not use them for the campus case. A parent policy quote with the car garaged on campus could differ from the solo figure. Get that quote before deciding, and do not assume the away figure applies to a car that is on campus. For how to compare those quotes side by side, see how to compare car insurance quotes. Parking: the UMass Dartmouth example, $266 for an academic year. Gas: 10,000 miles at 30 miles per gallon and $4.27 a gallon, the gas price used on the teen pages. Upkeep: 10,000 miles at about 11.7 cents a mile, the upkeep rate used on the teen pages.
| First year line, car goes to campus | Amount |
|---|---|
| The car itself, a $10,000 used car paid in full | $10,000 |
| Insurance, solo policy, age 19, one year | $5,718 |
| Campus parking, UMass Dartmouth example | $266 |
| Gas, 10,000 miles at 30 miles per gallon and $4.27 a gallon | $1,423 |
| Upkeep, 10,000 miles at about 11.7 cents a mile | $1,170 |
| First year total | $18,577 |
$10,000 plus $5,718 plus $266 plus $1,423 plus $1,170 equals $18,577. Gas is 10,000 divided by 30, about 333 gallons, times $4.27, which is $1,423 rounded. After year one, the car is bought, so the ongoing cost is $5,718 plus $266 plus $1,423 plus $1,170, which equals $8,577 a year, or about $715 a month. That $715 a month is the number to budget for, month after month, while the $10,000 car price does not repeat.
Formula
The fork comparison counts insurance plus parking only, at age 19. Car stays home is the Insurance.com parent policy student cost with the away discount, $3,572 for a 19 year old, plus $0 campus parking. Car goes to campus is the published solo policy figure for a 19 year old, $5,718, plus the UMass Dartmouth parking example, $266, for $5,984. The fork gap is $5,984 minus $3,572, which equals $2,412 a year, before gas and upkeep, which depend on miles driven. Over four college years, that gap alone is $9,648.
The worked example is a 19 year old who takes a car to campus in the first year: a $10,000 used car bought outright, plus insurance $5,718 on a solo policy, campus parking $266 on the UMass Dartmouth example, gas $1,423 on 10,000 miles at 30 miles per gallon and $4.27 a gallon, and upkeep $1,170 on 10,000 miles at about 11.7 cents a mile. The sum is $10,000 plus $5,718 plus $266 plus $1,423 plus $1,170, which equals $18,577. Gas is 10,000 divided by 30, about 333 gallons, times $4.27, which is $1,423 rounded. After year one, the ongoing cost is $5,718 plus $266 plus $1,423 plus $1,170, which equals $8,577 a year, or about $715 a month.
By age, solo cost falls from $7,498 at 18 to $4,215 at 21, a drop of $3,283, and the gap between solo and the away figure shrinks from $3,706 at 18 to $1,349 at 21. The fork matters most at 18, when the student is youngest and the solo price is highest.
Compare that with fork 1 on the same car, keeping gas and upkeep aside because a student away from home drives the home car far less, and no honest mileage figure covers that case. The insurance plus parking fork gap alone is $2,412 a year, from the fork table above. Over four college years, that gap alone is $9,648, before any difference in miles driven. That is the price of taking the car, in insurance and parking only. Against it, weigh what the car actually buys: a job off campus, an internship, a commute that buses do not cover, or regular trips home that would otherwise cost bus or plane fares. If the car buys none of those, fork 3, no car, is the honest winner, and the $18,577 first year total is money not spent.
What is not in the total
Sales tax and title are one time costs that vary by state, so they are not in the $18,577. Registration is paid at purchase and renewed each year, and its amount also varies by state. A repair fund sits on top of the $1,170 upkeep line for an older first car, since 11.7 cents a mile is a planning figure from average mileage cost, not a promise that nothing big breaks. A parent policy campus quote is not in this total either, because the worked example uses the published solo figure for the campus case and says so. If your insurer quotes a lower parent policy campus figure, use that quote and rework the total. Do not carry the away discount figure into a campus case where its conditions fail.
For the teen at home version of this decision, see how much a first car costs a teen and a teen first year of driving cost. For adding a young driver to a family policy, see how much it costs to add a teen to car insurance, and for insurance costs in general, see how much car insurance costs. To run your own numbers on any car, use the calculator.
Figures: Insurance.com car insurance for college students, updated August 14, 2026, and Insurance.com car insurance discounts for students, updated August 19, 2026, both checked at build on October 27, 2026. Gas at $4.27 a gallon and upkeep at about 11.7 cents a mile are the rates used on the teen pages. Parking examples: University of South Carolina student permits, UMass Dartmouth student permits at $266 per academic year, University of Illinois parking rates at $960 for a student 12 month permit and $143 for a shuttle lot, all checked at build. Parking figures are examples from named schools, not a national average. Insurance figures are national averages, not quotes.
Educational estimates only, not financial, tax, legal or insurance advice. Every figure on this page is a typical example worked from the inputs stated on the page, not a quote for a specific car, loan, or driver. Your rate, insurance, fuel use, and resale value will move your total. See Terms.
Calculation transparency
Scope. One decision, three forks: car stays home, car goes to campus, or no car at all, priced on published Insurance.com 2026 figures and named campus parking examples, not on a national parking average, because no national parking average was found. The worked example is a 19 year old who takes a $10,000 used car to campus.
Rules and time period. Insurance.com 2026, updated August 14, 2026: full coverage 100/300/100, $500 deductibles, Honda Accord LX, clean record, good credit, 10,000 annual miles. Parent policy figures add the student to a 40 year old driver. Away discount requires school more than 100 miles away and no vehicle with the student. Parking is the UMass Dartmouth example, $266 for an academic year. Gas at $4.27 a gallon and upkeep at about 11.7 cents a mile are the rates used on the teen pages.
Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Insurance figures are national averages, not quotes, and your state, insurer, car, and record will move them. Parking figures are examples from named schools, not a national average, and your school price replaces every one of them. Sales tax, title, and registration vary by state and are not in the $18,577. A repair fund sits on top of the $1,170 upkeep line for an older first car. A parent policy campus quote is not in this total; the worked example uses the published solo figure for the campus case and says so. Insurance quotes, gas prices, and local rates vary by driver and address. Get a real quote for the same car, coverage, and loan before you decide.
Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: Insurance.com car insurance for college students, updated August 14, 2026, and Insurance.com car insurance discounts for students, updated August 19, 2026, both checked at build on October 27, 2026; Insurance.com own pages disagree on the average size of the away discount, 16 percent on the college page and 11 percent on the discounts page, with State Farm as high as 25 percent, and on the good student discount, 14 percent and 12 percent; gas at $4.27 a gallon and upkeep at about 11.7 cents a mile are the rates used on the teen pages; parking examples from the University of South Carolina, UMass Dartmouth at $266 per academic year, and the University of Illinois at $960 for a student 12 month permit and $143 for a shuttle lot, all checked at build. The parking examples are named only, not linked.
Primary sources: Insurance.com car insurance for college students; Insurance.com car insurance discounts for students. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.
Definitions
Solo policy. A policy the student holds alone. For a 19 year old, $5,718 a year in the Insurance.com 2026 figures.
Parent policy. A policy that adds the student to a 40 year old driver. With the away discount, the student cost for a 19 year old is $3,572 a year.
Away discount. A discount for a student on a parent policy who attends school more than 100 miles away and does not have a vehicle with them at school. Insurance.com own pages put the average at 16 percent on the college page and 11 percent on the discounts page, with State Farm as high as 25 percent.
Good student discount. A discount for good grades, with a 3.0 grade point average commonly required and availability up to age 25. Insurance.com own pages put it at 14 percent on the college page and 12 percent on the discounts page.
Garaging address. Where the car is kept, as stated on the policy. Tell the insurer where the car is garaged and where the student lives: a garaging address that is wrong on the policy is a claim problem waiting to happen, not a saving.
Campus parking. The permit price at the student school. There is no national average, so this page gives named school examples only, from $125 to $960 a year.
Full coverage 100/300/100. The coverage basis for the Insurance.com figures: $100,000 bodily injury per person, $300,000 per accident, $100,000 property damage, with $500 deductibles.
Upkeep. Maintenance, at about 11.7 cents a mile on this page, which is $1,170 on 10,000 miles.
Questions people actually ask
Should a college student take a car to campus or leave it at home?
Decide the fork first. If the school is more than 100 miles away and no vehicle goes with the student, the away discount may apply, and the Insurance.com parent policy student cost for a 19 year old is $3,572 a year. If the car goes to campus, the away discount does not apply, campus parking becomes a new line, and the worked example on this page uses the published solo policy figure of $5,718 for a 19 year old plus a $266 parking example. The insurance plus parking gap between those two forks is $2,412 a year. If the car buys no job, internship, or commute that buses do not cover, no car at all is the cheapest fork.
How much does car insurance cost for a college student?
From Insurance.com 2026, updated August 14, 2026, on full coverage 100/300/100 with $500 deductibles: a solo policy costs $7,498 a year at age 18, $5,718 at 19, $5,173 at 20, and $4,215 at 21. On a parent policy with the away discount, the student cost is $3,792 at 18, $3,572 at 19, $3,288 at 20, and $2,866 at 21. These are national averages, not quotes, and your state, insurer, car, and record will move them.
What is the away from home discount, and how big is it?
It is a discount for a student on a parent policy who attends school more than 100 miles away and does not have a vehicle with them at school. Insurance.com own pages disagree on its average size, so this page shows both: 16% on the college page and 11% on the discounts page, with State Farm as high as 25% on the discounts page. Do not budget on either average alone. Ask the insurer for the student cost in dollars on your own policy, with and without the car at school.
What does a first car cost a college student in the first year?
In the worked example on this page, $18,577 in the first year for a 19 year old who takes a car to campus: a $10,000 used car bought outright, plus insurance $5,718 on a solo policy, campus parking $266 on the UMass Dartmouth example, gas $1,423 on 10,000 miles at 30 miles per gallon and $4.27 a gallon, and upkeep $1,170 on 10,000 miles at about 11.7 cents a mile. After year one, the ongoing cost is $8,577 a year, or about $715 a month, since the car is already bought.
Is no car at all a real option in college?
Yes, and for many students it is the cheapest fork. With no car, there is no car price, no campus parking, no gas, and no upkeep, so the car cost in the example is $0. The warning is about listing: if the student permanent residence is still the parents home and the student regularly drives family cars there on breaks, the student must be listed on the family policy. A student with no car who does not drive regularly at home has no car bill to price, and the $18,577 first year campus total is money not spent.
Related: Safety matters for a first car. See the safest used cars and what they really cost.
Related: Work out the monthly payment before you sign. See how much your car payment will be.
Related: New to buying altogether? Start with the buying guide.