For a 40-year-old driver with a clean record, Chico car insurance averages about $243 a month ($2,914 a year) for full coverage, based on the rates insurers had filed with state regulators as of Aug. 31, 2026. That’s 27% below the California average of $332 a month. GEICO and CSAA are effectively tied for the lowest full-coverage average of the five major insurers we compared (Allstate, CSAA, Farmers, GEICO and State Farm), at about $161 a month each.
Chico is the least expensive of the 33 California cities we publish guides for, and of the 86 California cities with three or more ZIP codes in our data. Our benchmark driver pays about $89 a month less here than the state average.
Our data covers three ZIP codes with a Chico mailing address, from about $237 a month in 95926 to $248 in 95928.
Cost data comes from the auto rates insurers file with state regulators, priced across all three Chico ZIP codes in our data, compiled by Quadrant Information Services and updated as new rates are filed.
Rates as of Aug. 31, 2026. Page reviewed Oct. 7, 2026.
How Much Is Car Insurance in Chico, CA?
Full coverage in Chico averages $2,914 a year, or about $243 a month, for our benchmark driver. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits averages $1,025 a year ($85 a month), and 50/100/50 liability with comprehensive and collision averages $2,725 ($227 a month).
- Full coverage (100/300/100, $500 deductibles): $2,914 a year ($243 a month)
- 50/100/50 with $500 deductibles: $2,725 a year ($227 a month)
- Liability only (15/30/5): $1,025 a year ($85 a month)
- Butte County: $3,051 a year ($254 a month) for full coverage
- California average: $3,979 a year ($332 a month) for full coverage
- ZIP code range: $237 (95926) to $248 (95928) a month for full coverage
Cheap Car Insurance in Chico: Companies Compared
- Lowest averages in our data, full coverage: GEICO and CSAA (AAA Northern California), effectively tied at about $161 a month each.
- Next lowest among the five major insurers we compared: State Farm at $251, then Allstate at $305.
- Lowest liability-only average in our data (15/30/5): CSAA, at about $39 a month, then GEICO at $45.
- Also on our list: USAA at about $167 a month, Mercury at $192, Progressive at $197, Travelers at $261 and Nationwide at $271 (USAA sells only to military families).
- Most expensive in our data: Farmers, at about $337 a month, $2,105 a year more than GEICO for the same driver and car.
GEICO and CSAA are effectively tied for the lowest full-coverage average among the five insurers in our Chico rate data. Statewide, five of the eight published 2026 California rate studies we reviewed rank GEICO cheapest for full coverage, apart from USAA, which sells only to military families, and a sixth ties GEICO with Progressive. In one of the eight, CSAA comes in below GEICO. For liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits, CSAA has the lowest average among these five insurers, at about $39 a month, followed by GEICO at $45.
Full-coverage averages by insurer in Chico
Monthly, for the same driver and car. Insurers marked with an asterisk in the table below aren’t in the chart.
Rates insurers filed with state regulators, compiled by Quadrant Information Services, as of Aug. 31, 2026. Benchmark 40-year-old driver, 100/300/100 with $500 deductibles.
| Insurance Company: | Liability Only 15/30/5 (Yearly): | Liability Only 15/30/5 (Monthly): | Full Coverage (Yearly): | Full Coverage (Monthly): |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEICO | $545 | $45 | $1,934 | $161 |
| CSAA (AAA Northern California) | $464 | $39 | $1,936 | $161 |
| State Farm | $1,167 | $97 | $3,007 | $251 |
| Allstate | $1,363 | $114 | $3,654 | $305 |
| Farmers | $1,585 | $132 | $4,039 | $337 |
| USAA (military families)* | $771 | $64 | $2,009 | $167 |
| Mercury Insurance* | $940 | $78 | $2,302 | $192 |
| Progressive* | $839 | $70 | $2,358 | $197 |
| Travelers* | $1,365 | $114 | $3,136 | $261 |
| Nationwide* | $1,273 | $106 | $3,254 | $271 |
| Chico average | $1,025 | $85 | $2,914 | $243 |
This table uses Chico ZIP codes only. See how we calculated these rates. Your own price depends on your car, driving record and coverage, so compare free car insurance quotes before you buy.
Chico Car Insurance Rates by ZIP Code
Across the three Chico ZIP codes we price, full coverage for our driver ranges from about $237 a month in 95926 to $248 in 95928, a gap of $133 a year. 95926, in north Chico, is the least expensive Chico ZIP code in our data, and 95928, on the east side, the most expensive; 95973, which reaches farther north, averages about $244 a month.
Lowest-priced Chico ZIP code
Highest-priced Chico ZIP code
Search the table for your ZIP code. The last column shows how far each ZIP code is above or below Chico’s average.
| ZIP Code: | Liability Only 15/30/5 (Yearly): | Liability Only 15/30/5 (Monthly): | Full Coverage (Yearly): | Full Coverage (Monthly): | Full Coverage vs. City Average: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95926 | $1,012 | $84 | $2,841 | $237 | -2% |
| 95928 | $1,026 | $86 | $2,974 | $248 | +2% |
| 95973 | $1,037 | $86 | $2,927 | $244 | About average |
Your ZIP code matters
How Much More Does Better Coverage Cost in Chico?
Raising liability limits from 50/100/50 to 100/300/100 adds about $189 a year on average in our Chico data, with the same $500 deductibles. That’s about $16 a month for double the per-person injury limit, three times the per-crash limit and double the property damage limit, and the full-coverage package also raises uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to 100/300.
Is Car Insurance Going Up in Chico?
For our benchmark driver, full coverage isn’t going up. Comparing the four insurers that are in both sets of rates, in the same Chico ZIP codes, their full-coverage average fell from $2,747 a year nine months earlier to $2,633 in rates as of Aug. 31, 2026, a 4.1% drop. State Farm cut its Chico average 13.2%, while Allstate’s, CSAA’s and GEICO’s averages were unchanged. Farmers is new in our rates over the past nine months, so it’s left out, which is why these averages differ from the Chico average above. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits rose 7.3%, led by State Farm, which raised its liability-only average 25.9%.
How Chico Compares With Nearby Towns
Butte County averages about $254 a month for full coverage, the 10th-least expensive of the 55 California counties we price, and Chico costs less than the county’s other towns: Paradise, about 12 miles east, averages about $248 a month, Magalia $261, Oroville, the county seat, $264 and Gridley $268.
Rural Northern California costs the least in our data: Siskiyou County averages about $231 a month and Plumas County $244, the two lowest of the 55 counties we price. Redding, about 65 miles northwest in Shasta County, averages $246.
How Chico Car Insurance Compares With Other California Cities
More California cities and towns are in the California rates by city table, and you can compare states on our car insurance rates by state page.
Yuba City, about 42 miles south, averages $294 a month, and Sacramento, about 80 miles south, $338. Our Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna guide, for Humboldt County on the coast, averages $254.
What Car Insurance Is Required in Chico?
Drivers in Chico follow California’s rules. The minimum rose for policies issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2025, and every policy must now carry at least:
- Bodily injury liability of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash
- Property damage liability of $15,000 per crash
Our California requirements guide covers uninsured motorist coverage, proof of insurance and the penalties for driving uninsured.
How to Lower Your Car Insurance Rate in Chico
- Compare GEICO and CSAA first. They have the two lowest full-coverage averages in our Chico data, about $161 a month each.
- Quote several insurers. In our Chico data, the lowest and highest insurer averages are about $176 a month apart for the same driver and car.
- Think twice before dropping comprehensive coverage. It’s the part of full coverage that pays when your car is damaged by fire, including wildfire, stolen or hit by a falling tree; liability-only coverage pays only for damage you do to others. In our Chico data, full coverage costs about $158 a month more than liability only at 15/30/5 limits, which are below California’s 30/60/15 minimum, so weigh that against the cost of replacing your car.
- Compare at every renewal. Over the past nine months, State Farm has cut its Chico average 13.2%, so the order in our table can shift.
- Ask about discounts and check your deductible. Many insurers lower rates for a clean driving record, paying in full or insuring more than one car, so ask which car insurance discounts you qualify for. Our full-coverage prices use $500 deductibles. A higher deductible lowers your premium but means you pay more yourself after a claim; see how your deductible works.
- Price a bundle. Pairing your auto policy with a home or renters policy usually earns a multi-policy discount. See home insurance costs in California, then compare free home insurance quotes.
Ready to compare
How We Calculated Chico Car Insurance Rates
Insurers must file their rates and rating rules with each state’s insurance regulator. Quadrant Information Services uses those filings to calculate what each insurer would charge a specific driver, and InsuranceQuotes analyzes those prices. This page uses rates in effect on Aug. 31, 2026.
- Sample: 15 full-coverage premiums from five insurers across three Chico ZIP codes, plus the same number of liability-only and 50/100/50 premiums.
- Driver: a single 40-year-old driver, licensed 24 years, with good credit and no accidents or violations, driving a 2024 Toyota Camry LE they own, for personal use.
- Coverage: full coverage is 100/300/100 liability with $500 comprehensive and collision deductibles and 100/300 uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. We also price 50/100/50 with the same deductibles, and liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits, with 15/30 uninsured motorist coverage and no comprehensive or collision. California’s minimum has been 30/60/15 since Jan. 1, 2025, so our liability-only prices use lower limits than the law requires.
- Calculation: for each insurer we take its lowest eligible price in each ZIP code and average those prices across the ZIP codes. The overall average is the mean of every insurer-and-ZIP price. Monthly figures are annual premiums divided by 12 and rounded.
- Rankings: we name a cheapest insurer only where it’s priced in at least half the ZIP codes and its lead over the next insurer isn’t so wide that it looks like an outlier. Annual prices within 3% of each other are called effectively tied.
- Rate changes: we compare the same insurer in the same ZIP codes, for the same driver and coverage, in rates as of Nov. 30, 2025, and Aug. 31, 2026. Farmers is new in our rates since November 2025, so it’s left out of rate-change comparisons; the other four insurers, Allstate, CSAA, GEICO and State Farm, are in both sets of rates. Rate-change percentages are calculated from the annual premiums shown; other percentages use the rounded monthly figures.
- Insurers marked *: priced from published 2026 California rate studies, scaled to our benchmark driver. They aren’t included in our averages or rankings.
- What this isn’t: a quote. These are modeled prices for one driver profile, calculated from insurers’ rate filings. Your price depends on your ZIP code, vehicle, driving record, coverage choices and discounts.
Coverage requirements come from California law and the California Department of Insurance. We refresh these figures when new rate data is released.
Chico Car Insurance FAQ
For our benchmark driver, full coverage in Chico averages about $243 a month ($2,914 a year) and liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits about $85 a month, based on the rates insurers had filed with state regulators as of Aug. 31, 2026. Full coverage is 27% below the California average of $332 a month.
GEICO and CSAA are effectively tied for the lowest full-coverage average in our Chico rate data, at about $161 a month each. State Farm’s average is next among the five major insurers we compared, at $251. For liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits, CSAA has the lowest average in our Chico data, at about $39 a month. Statewide, five of the eight published 2026 California rate studies we reviewed rank GEICO cheapest for full coverage, apart from USAA, and a sixth ties GEICO with Progressive. One of the eight puts CSAA below GEICO. Rates vary by driver, so compare quotes for your own car and ZIP code.
Compared with the rest of California, yes. For our benchmark driver, full coverage in Chico averages about $243 a month, 27% below the California average and the lowest of the 33 California cities we publish guides for.
In our data, 95926 has the lowest full-coverage average in Chico, at about $237 a month, and 95928 the highest, at about $248. The ZIP code table on this page lists all three.
In our Chico data, full coverage (100/300/100 with $500 deductibles) averages about $243 a month and liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits about $85, a difference of about $158 a month ($1,889 a year). Liability-only coverage won’t pay to repair or replace your own car after a crash, a theft or a storm. California law doesn’t require full coverage, but a lender or leasing company may.
Not for full coverage, for our benchmark driver. Comparing the four insurers in both sets of rates (Farmers is new over the past nine months), their Chico full-coverage average fell 4.1%, from about $2,747 to $2,633 a year. That’s lower than the Chico average of $2,914 because it leaves out Farmers. State Farm cut its Chico average 13.2%. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/5 limits rose 7.3%.
For our benchmark driver, full coverage in Chico averages about $243 a month. Nearby, Yuba City averages about $294, Sacramento about $338 and Santa Rosa–Petaluma about $276. Chico is the least expensive of these; prices depend mostly on ZIP code, so compare quotes for your own address.
- About the Author
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Michael Giusti is a senior insurance analyst, business journalist, and university professor with over 20 years of experience. He serves as department chair at Loyola University New Orleans and contributes to Insurance Thought Leadership, U.S. News, and other leading financial outlets.
