Who Has The Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Oakland, CA?
Compare Car Insurance Rates in Oakland
In Oakland, the most affordable company for most drivers is Geico for both state-minimum and full-coverage policies. Minimum coverage costs $491 per year from Geico, and full coverage is $1,556.
Cheapest auto insurance in Oakland: Geico
The absolute most affordable option for Oakland drivers is Geico's state-minimum insurance policy, which costs an average of $425 per year. That's 35% cheaper than the average across all insurers we looked at.
Progressive also offered our sample 30-year-old driver affordable rates, with a typical price of $491 — only $66 more per year.
Compare Car Insurance Rates in Oakland
Cheapest car insurance in Oakland, CA
Company | Average annual cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Geico | $425 |
| Progressive | $491 |
| AAA NorCal | $522 |
| Mercury | $589 |
| State Farm | $736 |
Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Oakland: Geico
For drivers who want a full-coverage policy that pays for damage to their vehicle, we recommend Geico. It had the most affordable rates of any insurer we looked at by a healthy margin. Its rates were $185 cheaper per year than the next-best option, Mercury.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,556 |
| 2 | Mercury | $1,741 |
| 3 | Progressive | $1,771 |
| 4 | State Farm | $2,216 |
| 5 | Allstate | $2,294 |
| 6 | Farmers | $2,587 |
| 7 | AAA NorCal | $2,622 |
A full-coverage car insurance policy includes the minimum required protection mandated by California law, along with comprehensive and collision coverages.
- Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damage to your car caused by something other than a crash, like a house fire or falling debris. It also covers theft.
- Collision coverage: Pays for damage to your car from a crash, whether or not you're responsible for the incident.
Comprehensive and collision coverages are subject to deductibles, which is the amount you have to pay before your insurance coverage kicks in. Our sample policies all had deductibles of $500 for both comprehensive and collision.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with prior incidents
If you have a less-than-perfect driving history, you're likely to pay more for car insurance than a driver with a spotless record.
We especially recommend that drivers with an at-fault crash or recent ticket shop around for car insurance, as they have the potential to bring their bill down even more than a typical driver.
Cheapest car insurance in Oakland after an accident: Mercury
While car insurers don't raise your rates after a crash to directly recoup the losses they've paid, there is a statistical correlation between whether a driver was at-fault in a crash recently and how likely it is they'll get in another crash in the future. As a result, you'll almost always pay more for car insurance after you've been at-fault in a crash.
The most affordable insurance in Oakland after one at-fault accident is Mercury. It offered our sample driver a full-coverage policy for $2,614 per year. That's 38% cheaper than the average across all insurers.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,614 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,814 |
| 3 | Progressive | $3,646 |
| 4 | State Farm | $4,392 |
| 5 | Farmers | $4,550 |
| 6 | AAA NorCal | $5,334 |
| 7 | Allstate | $6,205 |
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: Mercury
Insurance companies have found a correlation between whether a driver has been caught speeding and how likely they are to file an insurance claim, so you'll likely see your insurance rates jump after a speeding ticket.
Our sample driver got the best rates after a ticket from Mercury, at a price of $2,304 per year for full-coverage car insurance. That's $816 less than the average across all insurers, but it’s still much more than you would pay without a ticket on your record.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,304 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,429 |
| 3 | AAA NorCal | $3,311 |
| 4 | Allstate | $3,360 |
| 5 | State Farm | $3,400 |
| 6 | Progressive | $3,401 |
| 7 | Farmers | $3,641 |
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: Mercury
Getting caught drinking and driving is a serious offense, and it can have an equally serious impact on your car insurance rates. After one DUI in Oakland, you'll see a typical rate of $5,983 per year for full coverage, which is nearly three times what you would pay with a clean record.
Drivers with a DUI on their record looking to save on insurance should consider Mercury, which offered our sample driver a rate of $2,881 for full coverage. That's over $3,000 per year cheaper than the typical price across all insurers.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,881 |
| 2 | Geico | $3,899 |
| 3 | Progressive | $4,243 |
| 4 | Farmers | $4,550 |
| 5 | State Farm | $7,795 |
| 6 | Allstate | $9,063 |
| 7 | AAA NorCal | $9,449 |
Cheapest car insurance for married drivers: Geico
Insurance companies often give drivers a discount just for being married because they've found that married drivers tend to get in crashes and file claims less often than single people. On average, Oakland drivers save about 16% on their car insurance just because they are married.
Geico had the best rates overall for married drivers, with a typical price of $1,214 for a full-coverage policy. The company offered a 22% discount for tying the knot.
Note that married drivers can save even more by sharing a policy with their spouse or qualifying for a multi-car discount, which isn't factored into our sample rates.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,214 |
| 2 | Progressive | $1,303 |
| 3 | Mercury | $1,470 |
| 4 | Allstate | $2,002 |
| 5 | State Farm | $2,079 |
| 6 | AAA NorCal | $2,174 |
| 7 | Farmers | $2,187 |
Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: Geico
Younger drivers typically pay much more for car insurance than older, more experienced drivers. On average, an 18-year-old who's had their license since they were 16 pays $1,693 for a minimum-coverage policy — that's 61% more than a 30-year-old pays.
However, Geico has more affordable rates for teens. It gave our sample driver a quote of $1,275 for one year of minimum coverage. That's $141 cheaper than State Farm, the second-cheapest option.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,275 |
| 2 | State Farm | $1,416 |
| 3 | Progressive | $1,437 |
| 4 | Mercury | $1,452 |
| 5 | AAA NorCal | $1,673 |
| 6 | Farmers | $2,203 |
| 7 | Allstate | $2,394 |
The best way for young drivers to save on car insurance is to share a policy with a parent or older relative, which can bring their rates down by hundreds of dollars per year.
Average car insurance costs in Oakland by ZIP code
A major factor that determines car insurance rates is where you live. The part of Oakland you live in can affect your rates by up to $742 per year.
Here's the full breakdown of the cost of car insurance in Oakland by ZIP code.
ZIP code | Full-coverage annual cost | Minimum-coverage annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 94601 | $2,449 | $719 |
| 94602 | $1,920 | $608 |
| 94603 | $2,349 | $673 |
| 94605 | $2,049 | $607 |
| 94606 | $2,325 | $714 |
Auto theft statistics in Oakland
Oakland experiences more car theft per resident than any other city in the state — 11.6 cars were stolen per 1,000 residents in 2019. That's 55% more than the second-worst city in the state, Bakersfield.
Car theft can be a major reason for increased car insurance costs, especially for comprehensive insurance, which covers theft.
Rank | City | Population | Car thefts | Thefts per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland | 434,036 | 5,041 | 11.6 |
| 2 | Bakersfield | 388,080 | 2,909 | 7.5 |
| 3 | San Jose | 1,040,008 | 6,126 | 5.9 |
| 4 | Sacramento | 513,934 | 2,717 | 5.3 |
| 5 | Long Beach | 467,974 | 2,358 | 5.0 |
| 6 | San Francisco | 886,007 | 4,249 | 4.8 |
| 7 | Santa Ana | 333,664 | 1,343 | 4.0 |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 4,015,546 | 15,642 | 3.9 |
| 9 | San Diego | 1,441,737 | 5,172 | 3.6 |
| 10 | Anaheim | 353,915 | 1,231 | 3.5 |
Motor vehicle theft data was derived from the FBI 2019 California Crime Report.
Methodology
We collected data from seven of the largest insurers in California. Our sample driver was a 30-year-old man who drove a 2015 Honda Civic EX. Unless otherwise stated, the driver had poor credit and received rates for a minimum-coverage policy.
In instances where our sample driver was comparing rates for a full-coverage policy, the following limitations were used:
Type | California minimum | Full coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $5,000 per accident | $50,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist BI | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident | |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist PD | $50,000 per accident | |
| Comprehensive and collision | $500 deductible |
ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your own quotes may be different.
Our statewide analysis of California insurance rates included both AAA of Northern California and AAA of Southern California. However, AAA of Southern California doesn't offer insurance to Oakland residents, so we eliminated it from city averages and rankings.
Sources: