Car insurance in New Jersey
Drivers in New Jersey paid $1,693 a year for full coverage in 2023, 18% above the national average. With prices up since, figure on about $2,010 today. In New Jersey, the law asks for at least 35/70/25 liability.
What people pay in New Jersey
A typical yearly price today
about $2,010 a year (about $170 a month)
New Jersey's average full-coverage cost in 2023 was $1,693, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Car insurance prices nationally have risen about 18% since then (government price index, August 2026), so we start from about $2,010.
That makes New Jersey the 8th most expensive of the 50 states and DC. Nationally, the average was $1,439.
It's an average across every kind of driver and car, not your price. Your car, your driving record, and how much coverage you carry move it up or down.
New Jersey next to its neighbors
A typical policy in New Jersey costs more than in Delaware and Pennsylvania and less than in New York.
| State | Typical price, 2023 | Moving to New Jersey from there |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $1,693 | Not a move |
| Delaware | $1,569 | About $170 more a year |
| New York | $1,896 | About $280 less a year |
| Pennsylvania | $1,273 | About $570 more a year |
| National average | $1,439 | Not a move |
The move is the What-if page's starting example: a 40–64-year-old with a clean record and a 2020 Toyota Camry, full coverage, in the suburbs, with nothing else changed. Only the two states' typical prices make the difference, so a real move can come out differently.
The least insurance New Jersey's law asks for
- Liability (per person / per crash / property)
- $35,000 / $70,000 / $25,000
- Personal injury protection (PIP)
- Required
- Medical payments
- Not required
- No-fault
- Your choice
- Uninsured motorist
- Required
- Underinsured motorist
- Required
Liability pays for injuries and damage you cause to others, up to these limits. A minimum is the least the law allows, not a recommendation, and it doesn't pay to fix your own car.
In New Jersey, you choose whether no-fault rules apply to you. Under no-fault, your own policy pays for your own injuries first, whoever caused the crash.
Liability-only coverage, the closest NAIC figure to what a minimum policy costs, averaged $1,033 in New Jersey in 2023 (about $1,220 today, brought up the same rough way), the 6th highest of the 50 states and DC. That's about 61% of the full-coverage price; the rest pays to fix or replace your own car.
With a Standard Policy, New Jersey requires at least $35,000 per person and $70,000 per crash for injuries, $25,000 for property damage, at least $15,000 of PIP, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. A cheaper Basic Policy is also legal: it carries $15,000 PIP and $5,000 property damage, with injury liability only as an optional $10,000, and it gives you much less protection.
No-fault is your choice here. We haven't confirmed which rules apply if you don't choose.
Good to know: New Jersey is a "choice" state. With a Standard Policy you pick the limited or unlimited right to sue for pain and suffering; the Basic Policy always has the limited right.
What we couldn’t confirm: We haven't confirmed from an official copy of the law which option applies if you don't choose, so that default is blank. The PIP minimum and the Basic Policy figures ($5,000 property damage, optional $10,000 injury liability) come from the state's 2026 buyer's guide; we didn't read the laws behind them.
- Personal injury protection
- Standard Policy: at least $15,000 per person/accident (up to $250,000 or more available); up to $250,000 for certain serious injuries regardless of the limit you choose. Basic Policy: $15,000 per person/accident.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist
- A Standard Policy must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at the injury minimums ($35,000/$70,000 from 2026), plus property damage coverage ($25,000 total, $500 deductible). You can buy more, up to your liability limits. A Basic Policy has none.
- Checked
- September 22, 2026
A new teen driver in New Jersey
Adding a 16-year-old to a typical policy
about $1,320 more a year
About $110 a month, on one average car with full coverage. The whole policy with the teen: roughly $2,500–$4,400 a year.
On a policy of their own, with the same kind of car, the same teen would pay about $5,760 a year in New Jersey (roughly $4,400–$8,200).
What adding a teen costs comes from California's published prices, so the range is wide, and New Jersey may differ. How adding a teen driver works.
Cars that cost the least to add a teen with
In New Jersey, the 2022 Subaru Forester is the cheapest of the 33 cars on the site's popular lists to add a teen with: about $1,180 more a year. At the other end of the same lists, the 2022 Tesla Model 3 costs about $1,990 more a year.
| Car | Added to your policy | On their own policy |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Subaru Forester | +$1,180 a year | $5,140 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Outback | +$1,190 a year | $5,150 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Crosstrek | +$1,190 a year | $5,170 a year |
| 2022 Honda CR-V | +$1,270 a year | $5,530 a year |
| 2022 Toyota RAV4 | +$1,290 a year | $5,620 a year |
The order is the same in every state, because our car data is national. What changes from state to state is the price level.
Why these cars cost less, and what this doesn't cover.
“Try it with your own car” opens your own situation in New Jersey (a 2020 Toyota Camry if you haven't set one) with a new 16-year-old. It starts from that car, not an average one, so its figure can differ from the one above.
Where these numbers come from
- Typical prices: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report, 2023 data, brought up to today with the government's price index for car insurance.
- The law: New Jersey's own statute or insurance department, listed above with the date we checked it.
- Teen drivers and cars: the same math as the rest of the site. Here's how we got these, and every source.
This is an estimate to help you plan, not a quote. We don't sell insurance, and we never pass your info to anyone. Only an insurer can give you a real price.