How Much Does It Cost to Own a Pickup Truck?

Cost example updated October 24, 2026

The class comparison, side by side

AAA's 2026 study looks at 34 popular new models across seven vehicle types, and works out the full cost of owning each one over five years and 75,000 miles, 15,000 miles a year. The study counts everything: the value the vehicle loses, the loan interest, insurance, fuel, upkeep and tires, and license, registration, and taxes. Here is what it finds for pickups against the small sedan:

One note on the arithmetic, so the numbers reconcile: $16,449 minus $9,259 is $7,190 a year. AAA's own release rounds the same gap to $7,191, because it works from unrounded per-mile figures ($1.0966 minus $0.6173 is $0.4793 a mile, which is $7,189.50 at 15,000 miles). The $1 difference is rounding, not a different result. This page uses $7,190, worked straight from AAA's published yearly totals.

Formula

The headline comparison is AAA 2026 study of new-vehicle ownership costs over five years and 75,000 miles, 15,000 miles a year. A half-ton pickup runs $16,449 a year, about $1,371 a month, about $1.10 a mile, about $82,245 over five years. A small sedan runs $9,259 a year, about $772 a month, about $0.62 a mile, about $46,295 over five years. The gap is $16,449 minus $9,259, which is $7,190 a year, about $599 a month, about $35,950 over five years, about 48 cents more for every mile driven.

One note on the arithmetic, as the page states it: AAA own release rounds the same gap to $7,191, because it works from unrounded per-mile figures, $1.0966 minus $0.6173 is $0.4793 a mile, which is $7,189.50 at 15,000 miles. The $1 difference is rounding, not a different result. This page uses $7,190, worked straight from AAA published yearly totals.

By size class, at the same 15,000 miles a year: a midsize pickup runs $13,089 a year, about $1,091 a month, about $65,445 over five years, which is $3,360 a year, about $280 a month, less than a half-ton pickup. No class figure is published for heavy-duty pickups, so none is printed here. By powertrain, as reported from the same study: a gas pickup runs about $16,626 a year, a hybrid pickup about $16,117 a year, about $509 a year less than gas, and an electric pickup about $17,414 a year, about $788 a year more than gas. Diesel is not broken out as its own line, so no diesel-versus-gas dollar gap is printed.

The fuel illustration at AAA gas price of $4.152 a gallon: 15,000 miles a year in a full-size gas truck at 18 to 21 miles per gallon works out to about $2,966 to $3,460 a year in fuel alone. Across the study, fuel costs 17.3 cents a mile, about $2,595 a year at 15,000 miles; upkeep with tires runs 11.7 cents a mile, about $1,755 a year; loan interest averages $1,184 a year; and license, registration, and taxes average $802 a year. A set of four pickup tires runs roughly $900 to $1,500, against roughly $450 to $800 for a sedan set, which works out to about $270 to $450 a year at 15,000 miles on one set every 50,000 miles.

Two words that matter here. Half-ton is the class name for a full-size pickup like the ones most often seen on job sites and in driveways, the name is old, and today's half-tons carry far more than half a ton. Depreciation is the value a vehicle loses as it gets older, the difference between what you paid and what it is worth later. In AAA's study, depreciation is the single biggest cost of owning any new vehicle, bigger than fuel.

Where the gap comes from

AAA's public release does not break the half-ton total into its own buckets, so this page does not invent a pickup-only split that adds up to $16,449. What follows is what the study does publish, plus pickup-specific ranges from second sources, each labeled for what it is. Read together, they show why the gap is as big as it is.

The value it loses (depreciation)

Across all the new vehicles AAA studied, the average vehicle loses $4,422 a year in value, the largest single cost in the study, ahead of fuel. A truck starts from a higher price than a small sedan, so even a similar rate of value loss means more dollars lost per year. That higher starting price is the quiet engine behind much of the $7,190 gap: every cost tied to price, value lost, loan interest, and taxes and fees, scales up with it. Gap on this page: AAA's release does not publish a pickup-only depreciation figure, so none is printed here.

Fuel

AAA's study uses a 12-month average gas price of $4.152 a gallon through May 2026, and finds fuel costs 17.3 cents a mile across the vehicles studied, about $2,595 a year at 15,000 miles. A full-size gas truck drinks more per mile than a small sedan, so its fuel line runs higher. As an illustration at AAA's gas price: 15,000 miles a year in a full-size gas truck at 18 to 21 miles per gallon (the typical combined range for full-size gas trucks) works out to about $2,966 to $3,460 a year in fuel alone. Miles per gallon is simply how many miles a vehicle goes on one gallon of gas, fewer miles per gallon means more gallons bought for the same driving.

Tires

Truck tires are bigger, tougher, and pricier than sedan tires. Published retail ranges put a set of four pickup tires at roughly $900 to $1,500 for a quality set, against roughly $450 to $800 for a sedan set. Spread over the life of a set, as an illustration, one set every 50,000 miles, that works out to about $270 to $450 a year at 15,000 miles a year, before mounting and balancing. AAA folds tires into its upkeep line (maintenance, repairs, and tires together run 11.7 cents a mile across the study, about $1,755 a year), so tires are part of the gap, not the whole of it.

Insurance

Insurance is the one bucket where the truck-versus-sedan story is mixed, and this page does not force it into a single number. AAA's study-wide average is $2,098 a year. For pickups specifically, published 2026 figures range widely: MoneyGeek puts full coverage for a pickup at about $158 a month ($1,896 a year), while Insure.com-based reporting puts the truck average at about $2,892 a year. The honest read is that insurance depends heavily on the driver, the truck, and the city, and it is not, on its own, what explains a $7,190 gap. If your insurance quote is the number you are unsure about, run it through the car insurance cost page, which breaks down what moves a premium.

The rest of the bill

Across the study, loan interest (called finance charges) averages $1,184 a year, and license, registration, and taxes average $802 a year. Both scale with price, so both run higher on a truck than on a cheaper sedan. Sales tax is not in AAA's per-mile figure the same way everywhere, it depends on your state, so check your state's rate for your own total.

What moves a truck's cost

A pickup is not one thing. Size, drive wheels, and engine each move the yearly total on their own line. None of these lines are blended into the half-ton math above, each stands on its own.

Size class: midsize vs. half-ton vs. heavy-duty

Midsize pickup: $13,089 a year. About $1,091 a month, or about $65,445 over five years, at the same 15,000 miles a year. That is $3,360 a year, about $280 a month, less than a half-ton pickup. Midsize trucks are smaller, lighter, and cheaper to buy and to fuel, which is where most of that saving comes from.

Half-ton pickup: $16,449 a year. The headline figure of this page, about $1,371 a month.

Heavy-duty pickup: no class figure published. AAA's 2026 category table covers seven types, small sedan, medium sedan, subcompact SUV, compact SUV, midsize pickup, medium SUV, and half-ton pickup, and heavy-duty trucks are not one of them. Gap on this page: we could not find a clean class-level yearly figure for heavy-duty pickups from a comparable source, so we print none rather than guessing. Expect a heavy-duty truck to cost more than a half-ton, it is bigger, pricier, and thirstier, but this page will not put a number on that until a source does.

Four-wheel drive vs. two-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive (4x4) sends power to all four wheels instead of two, which helps on mud, snow, and rough ground. It also adds weight, hardware, and usually a higher sticker price, and it typically trims a little fuel economy. Two-wheel drive (2WD) sends power to two wheels only, and usually costs less to buy and to run. Gap on this page: we could not find a clean class-level dollar figure for the 4x4-versus-2WD difference, so this page states the direction, 4x4 costs more, without printing a number it cannot back up.

Gas vs. diesel vs. hybrid vs. electric

AAA's 2026 study compares powertrains inside the pickup category, as reported, on these separate lines:

• Gas pickup: about $16,626 a year.
• Hybrid pickup: about $16,117 a year. A hybrid pairs a gas engine with a battery motor, and runs about $509 a year less than the gas line in these figures.
• Electric pickup: about $17,414 a year. An electric truck skips gas entirely but starts from a higher price, and in these figures runs about $788 a year more than the gas line.
• Diesel pickup: no separate line verified. Diesel is the fuel used by most heavy work trucks, and diesel engines generally go further on a gallon and pull heavier loads. They also cost more up front and more to maintain, and diesel fuel often costs more per gallon. Gap on this page: diesel is not broken out as its own yearly line in the figures we could verify, so this page does not print a diesel-versus-gas dollar gap.

Note that these powertrain lines are the pickup category as a whole, as reported, they are not the same as the half-ton line above, which is why the gas figure here ($16,626) sits close to but not exactly on the half-ton figure ($16,449). The two are not mixed anywhere on this page.

The single-model versions of this math

This page is the class math, trucks as a kind. If you have narrowed it down to one truck, the single-model pages run the same kind of five-year math for that truck alone, with that model's own figures. No model figure is copied into the class math above, and no class figure is passed off as a model's number:

• Ford F-150 true cost, the single-model version for the F-150.
• Chevrolet Silverado true cost, the single-model version for the Silverado.

If you have not picked a brand yet, the class figures above are the right starting point. If you have, the model page is where the math gets specific.

Calculation transparency

Scope. AAA 2026 study class math for new vehicles at 15,000 miles a year over five years, half-ton pickup against small sedan, with size-class and powertrain lines from the same study, each labeled for what it is.

Rules and time period. AAA 2026 Your Driving Costs study, 34 popular new models across seven vehicle types, five years and 75,000 miles; gas price 12-month average $4.152 a gallon through May 2026; study-wide averages for depreciation $4,422 a year, insurance $2,098 a year, finance charges $1,184 a year, license, registration, and taxes $802 a year, fuel 17.3 cents a mile, upkeep 11.7 cents a mile. AAA public release does not break the half-ton total into its own buckets, so no pickup-only split is invented here.

Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. No class-level yearly figure is printed for heavy-duty pickups, for 4x4 against 2WD, for diesel against gas, or for a pickup-only depreciation split, because no comparable source figure was verified for them; the page states the direction where it can and prints no number it cannot back up. Sales tax is not in AAA per-mile figure the same way everywhere, so check your state rate for your own total. 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: AAA 2026 Your Driving Costs study, half-ton pickup, small sedan, and midsize pickup category totals, and study-wide averages for depreciation, insurance, finance charges, license, registration, and taxes, fuel, and upkeep, gas price average through May 2026; MoneyGeek 2026 pickup insurance, full coverage about $158 a month, $1,896 a year; Insure.com-based 2026 truck insurance average, about $2,892 a year. The published retail tire ranges and the pickup powertrain lines as reported from the same study are named only, not linked.

Primary sources: AAA Your Driving Costs 2026; MoneyGeek cheapest car insurance for pickup trucks; Insure.com most and least expensive trucks to insure. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.

Definitions

Half-ton pickup. The class name for a full-size pickup like the ones most often seen on job sites and in driveways. The name is old, and today half-tons carry far more than half a ton.

Depreciation. The value a vehicle loses as it gets older, the difference between what you paid and what it is worth later. In AAA study, depreciation is the single biggest cost of owning any new vehicle, bigger than fuel.

Miles per gallon. How many miles a vehicle goes on one gallon of gas. Fewer miles per gallon means more gallons bought for the same driving.

Finance charges. Loan interest. Across the study, loan interest averages $1,184 a year.

4x4. Four-wheel drive, which sends power to all four wheels instead of two, which helps on mud, snow, and rough ground. It also adds weight, hardware, and usually a higher sticker price.

2WD. Two-wheel drive, which sends power to two wheels only, and usually costs less to buy and to run.

Hybrid pickup. A pickup that pairs a gas engine with a battery motor. In the figures as reported, a hybrid pickup runs about $16,117 a year, about $509 a year less than the gas line.

Electric pickup. A pickup that skips gas entirely but starts from a higher price. In the figures as reported, an electric pickup runs about $17,414 a year, about $788 a year more than the gas line.

Diesel pickup. A pickup that runs on diesel fuel, used by most heavy work trucks. Diesel engines generally go further on a gallon and pull heavier loads, and they also cost more up front and more to maintain.

Questions people actually ask

How much does it cost to own a pickup truck per year?

A half-ton pickup costs about $16,449 a year to own and run, according to AAA's 2026 study. That is about $1,371 a month, or about $82,245 over five years, at 15,000 miles a year.

How much more does a pickup truck cost than a sedan?

About $7,190 a year more than a small sedan. AAA puts a small sedan at $9,259 a year, so the gap over five years is about $35,950. Most of that gap comes from the truck's higher price and higher fuel use, not from insurance alone.

Does a midsize pickup cost less than a half-ton pickup?

Yes. AAA puts a midsize pickup at $13,089 a year, which is $3,360 a year less than a half-ton pickup at $16,449. That is about $280 a month less, at the same 15,000 miles a year.

Do diesel pickups cost less to own than gas pickups?

In AAA's 2026 pickup figures as reported, a hybrid pickup runs about $16,117 a year, a gas pickup about $16,626, and an electric pickup about $17,414. Diesel is not broken out as its own line in the figures we could verify, so this page does not print a diesel-versus-gas dollar gap. Diesel trucks generally go further on a gallon and tow heavier loads, but they also cost more up front and more to maintain, and diesel fuel often costs more per gallon.

How much does a midsize pickup save over a half-ton?

A midsize pickup runs $13,089 a year against $16,449 a year for a half-ton, a saving of $3,360 a year, about $280 a month, or $65,445 against $82,245 over five years, at the same 15,000 miles a year. Midsize trucks are smaller, lighter, and cheaper to buy and to fuel, which is where most of that saving comes from.

Related: See the diesel vs. gas truck five-year cost comparison.

Related: Using it for work? See what a work truck really costs a small contractor.

Related: See why your car loses value so fast, trucks hold it better than most.

Run your own numbers

Change the price, the miles, and the insurance to match your driving, the calculator does the same five-year math as the figures above. Curious what each mile really runs? The cost per mile page breaks that down. Shopping used instead of new? The true cost of a used car page runs the same math for a used vehicle, and new vs. used compares the two paths side by side.

Figures: AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study (half-ton pickup, small sedan, and midsize pickup category totals; study-wide averages for depreciation, insurance, finance charges, license/registration/taxes, fuel, and upkeep; gas price average through May 2026), as reported by AAA's newsroom and category tables; pickup powertrain lines (gas, hybrid, electric) as reported from the same study; MoneyGeek 2026 pickup insurance; Insure.com-based 2026 truck insurance average; published retail tire ranges for pickup vs. sedan sets. AAA's figures are for new vehicles at 15,000 miles a year over five years. Insurance, registration, and tire prices vary by driver, truck, and city. Where this page could not verify a class-level figure, heavy-duty pickups, 4x4 versus 2WD, diesel versus gas, and a pickup-only depreciation split, it says so on the page instead of printing a guess.