Pothole Damage Costs US Drivers $3 Billion a Year

We all know the sound. That vicious clunk, clunk your car makes whenever it hits a pothole.

Potholes mainly form during winter and early spring when temperatures change frequently. First, snow and ice melt and seep into the pavement. Then, when the temperature drops again, the water refreezes and expands, cracking the road and opening up a pothole.

Even a seemingly small pothole can produce a surprisingly large amount of damage. According to AAA, U.S. drivers spend nearly $3 billion a year fixing damage caused by potholes.

States with the worst potholes

Washington state has the worst potholes in the nation, but Indiana and Michigan aren’t far behind. Our team of analysts looked at Google search statistics going back to 2004. We found that Washington has more searches for pothole-related complaints than any other state. Arkansas, Nevada and Wyoming have the least potholes.

States with the Worst Pothole Problem

Rank	State	Search index average
1	Washington	66
2	Indiana	65
3	Michigan	54
4	Nebraska	52
5	Ohio	51
6	Massachusetts	50
7	Illinois	48
8	Tennessee	47
9	Pennsylvania	46
10	New York	46
11	New Jersey	44
12	South Carolina	44
13	Vermont	43
14	Rhode Island	40
15	Virginia	39
16	Kentucky	39
17	Maryland	36
18	South Dakota	33
19	California	31
20	Georgia	28
21	Minnesota	28
22	North Dakota	28
23	Missouri	28
24	Hawaii	25
25	Colorado	23
26	Texas	23
27	West Virginia	22
28	Connecticut	22
29	Montana	21
30	Delaware	21
31	Oregon	21
32	Wisconsin	20
33	New Hampshire	19
34	Louisiana	19
35	Florida	19
36	Idaho	19
37	Mississippi	17
38	Alaska	17
39	Kansas	17
40	Oklahoma	17
41	North Carolina	17
42	Iowa	16
43	Maine	16
44	Alabama	15
45	New Mexico	14
46	Arizona	13
47	Utah	12
48	Arkansas	11
49	Nevada	11
50	Wyoming	2
Methodology: QuoteWizard analyzed search data for pothole-related complaints and repairs for each state going back to 2004. The search index average is rounded and represents the number of queries in a particular state/location compared to other states.

Cities with the worst potholes

Certain U.S. cities also seem to have particularly big problems with potholes. Yakima, Washington, has the worst potholes, but two other cities in Washington also make the top five.

Cities with the Worst Pothole Problem

Rank	City	Search index average
1	Yakima, WA	50
2	Grand Junction, CO	40
3	Spokane, WA	39
4	Lafayette, IN	29
5	Seattle, WA	22
6	Burlington, VT	16
7	Reno, NV	12
8	Springfield, MA	11
9	Indianapolis, IN	10
10	Omaha, NE	9
11	Jackson, MS	7
12	Missoula, MT	7
13	Lansing, MI	6
14	Portland, OR	6
15	Topeka, KS	6
16	Fargo, ND	6
17	Detroit, MI	6
18	Colorado Springs, CO	6
19	Tucson, AZ	5
20	Buffalo, NY	5
21	Bangor, ME	5
22	Minneapolis, MN	5
23	Scranton, PA	5
24	Grand Rapids, MI	5
25	Albany, NY	5
26	Toledo, OH	5
27	Sioux Falls, SD	4
28	South Bend-Elkhart, IN	4
29	Pittsburg, PA	4
30	Duluth MN-Superior, WI	4
31	Greenville, SC	4
32	Champaign, IL	4
33	Philadelphia, PA	4
34	Ft. Wayne, IN	4
35	Cincinnati, OH	4
36	New Orleans, LA	4
37	Denver, CO	4
38	Johnstown, PA	4
39	Boston, MA	4
40	Richmond, VA	4
41	Chicago, IL	4
42	Memphis, TN	4
43	Honolulu, HI	4
44	Lincoln, NE	4
45	Eugene, OR	4
46	Salisbury, MD	4
47	Cleveland, OH	4
48	Hartford, CT	4
49	Youngstown, OH	4
50	Kansas City, MO	4
Methodology: QuoteWizard analyzed search data for pothole-related complaints and repairs for each city going back to 2004. The search index average represents the number of queries in a particular city/location compared to other cities. Numbers presented are rounded to the nearest whole number, which is why many cities appear to have tied.

How potholes hurt your car

How can a hole in the road cause so much financial drama? Consider that a pothole can do everything from damage your tires to ruin your suspension, including:

• Pop your tire
• Damage your wheel rims
• Ruin the engine or exhaust system
• Throw off your alignment
• Ruin your car's shocks and struts

Potholes impact some people more (and more often) than others

Watch out if you’re between the ages of 35 and 44. Recent research indicates potholes may be out to get you. Drivers in this age range reported more pothole damage than any other age group, with almost one-third of drivers saying they’ve dealt with pothole damage in the last year.

Potholes also seem to strike twice — or more accurately, thrice. According to AAA, once your car has been damaged by a pothole, it’s likely to happen at least two more times in a five-year span.

Here’s how much you can expect to pay for pothole repairs

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to pothole damage. The bad news is that it’s going to cost you hundreds of dollars. The good news is that according to AAA, it probably won’t cost you much more than that.

Of course, how much you pay to repair pothole damage depends on the make and model of your vehicle as well as a number of other factors. (Just replacing a tire can cost you anywhere from $100 to $500 or more, depending on the vehicle you drive.)

Car insurance and pothole issues

Insurance plays an important role here too. That’s because having the right kind and right amount of car insurance keeps you from having to hand over a lot of your hard-earned cash when it comes time to pay for these repairs.

What’s the right kind of auto insurance in this instance? Collision coverage.

When most people think of collision coverage, they think about protecting themselves if their car gets into an accident. Usually that means hitting another car or another car hitting yours. Collision coverage also steps in, though, if you damage your vehicle by hitting a guardrail, lamp post or — you guessed it — a pothole.

Something to keep in mind here: what you pay for collision coverage depends on your deductible. Go with a higher deductible (what you pay out of pocket if you file a claim), and your rate or premium will be lower. Go with a lower deductible, and your rate will be higher. If you want to learn more about collision and other forms of auto insurance, read our “Car Insurance Basics” article. Check out our article about deductibles too.

A few pieces of pothole advice

Finally, here are some ways you can protect your car from potholes:

• To minimize pothole damage to your vehicle, make sure your tires are properly inflated.
• Make sure your tread grooves are deep enough too. If they’re not, buy new tires.
• If avoiding a pothole isn’t possible, slow down, keep your foot off the brake pedal, and try to straighten the steering wheel before impact.

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