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At what age should you be allowed to start driving?
Do you think the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same?
There’s almost nothing like that feeling of independence that comes with getting your license for the first time, a feeling that roughly one fifth (20.6%) of Americans want to delay for the youth of America, according to a survey conducted by Finder.com.
When asked their feelings on whether their state’s minimum driving age should be raised, lowered or remain the same, 52.5 million adults said that they wanted the minimum driving age raised in their state.
The overwhelming majority (75.7%) of American adults are happy with the way things are, with 193.2 million adults saying the driving ages should remain as they are, with a further 3.7% (9.4 million US adults) believing that minimum driving ages should be lowered.
Do you think the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same in your state?
| Selection | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Raised | 20.6% |
| Lowered | 3.7% |
| Kept the same | 75.7% |
Men and women share similar views on driving age
Men and women are pretty in line with their views when it comes to whether or not the driving age should be higher or lower in their state. Men are slightly more likely to be in favor of the minimum driving age either being raised (19.8%) or lowered (4.1%) compared to women (19.6% and 2.8%). Women (77.7%) are more likely to be in favor of keeping the status quo than men (76.1%).
Do you think the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same in your state? – by gender
| Selection | % of male respondents | % of female respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Raised | 19.8% | 19.6% |
| Lowered | 4.1% | 2.8% |
| Kept the same | 76.1% | 77.7% |
Younger Americans want to keep the minimum driving age where it is
Young Americans (18-24) are most likely to support keeping the minimum driving age as is, with a whopping 85.7% saying their state minimum driving age should not be changed. Unsurprisingly, they were also the group least in favor of raising the minimum driving age at 8.6%.
Do you think the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same in your state? – by age
| Selections | 18–24 year olds | 25–34 year olds | 35–44 year olds | 45–54 year olds | 55–64 year olds | 65+ year olds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raised | 8.6% | 21.9% | 17.5% | 22.5% | 19.8% | 18.4% |
| Lowered | 5.7% | 2.7% | 8.2% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 1.0% |
| Kept the same | 85.7% | 75.3% | 74.3% | 74.5% | 77.1% | 80.6% |
Connecticut most in favor of raising the age limit
Connecticut is the most in favor of raising the minimum driving age, with 33.3% of the state wanting the minimum driving age raised, followed by Florida at 29.6%, and New Mexico at 27.6%. On the other end of the spectrum, Montana is the most in favor of maintaining the status quo, with 92.9%. of respondents saying that the minimum driving age should be kept the same.
Do you think the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same in your state? – by state
| State | Raised | Lowered | Kept the same |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 23.5% | 8.8% | 67.6% |
| Arizona | 26.7% | 5.0% | 68.3% |
| California | 23.7% | 3.5% | 72.8% |
| Colorado | 16.9% | 0.0% | 83.1% |
| Connecticut | 33.3% | 5.1% | 61.5% |
| District of Columbia | 10.0% | 10.0% | 80.0% |
| Florida | 29.6% | 3.7% | 66.7% |
| Georgia | 17.1% | 1.4% | 81.4% |
| Illinois | 21.6% | 2.2% | 76.1% |
| Indiana | 23.3% | 2.3% | 74.4% |
| Iowa | 18.6% | 4.7% | 76.7% |
| Kansas | 23.1% | 7.7% | 69.2% |
| Kentucky | 9.1% | 9.1% | 81.8% |
| Maine | 13.3% | 0.0% | 86.7% |
| Maryland | 18.8% | 6.3% | 75.0% |
| Massachusetts | 16.7% | 0.0% | 83.3% |
| Michigan | 12.1% | 0.0% | 87.9% |
| Minnesota | 16.2% | 2.9% | 80.9% |
| Missouri | 19.5% | 9.1% | 71.4% |
| Montana | 7.1% | 0.0% | 92.9% |
| Nebraska | 7.4% | 0.0% | 92.6% |
| Nevada | 25.0% | 5.0% | 70.0% |
| New Jersey | 19.1% | 6.4% | 74.5% |
| New Mexico | 27.6% | 6.9% | 65.5% |
| New York | 21.0% | 4.0% | 75.0% |
| North Carolina | 23.8% | 1.5% | 74.6% |
| Ohio | 23.8% | 5.0% | 71.3% |
| Oklahoma | 16.2% | 2.7% | 81.1% |
| Oregon | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 21.3% | 4.0% | 74.7% |
| South Carolina | 15.4% | 7.7% | 76.9% |
| Tennessee | 8.8% | 0.0% | 91.2% |
| Texas | 20.6% | 5.3% | 74.0% |
| Utah | 17.6% | 2.9% | 79.4% |
| Virginia | 25.7% | 3.8% | 70.5% |
| Washington | 15.2% | 4.3% | 80.4% |
| Wisconsin | 23.9% | 2.8% | 73.2% |
Young drivers pay the highest auto insurance rates
Who’s to say exactly why people want the driving age raised, lowered or to remain the same. But one thing is for sure, age is a top factor in determining how much you’ll pay for car insurance. And, younger drivers typically pay the most.
Insurers consider statistics around accidents and claims for each age group. Would raising the minimum driving age result in more mature drivers on the road? Less accidents? Lower premiums?
Regardless of your age, there are ways to save on car insurance now.
Methodology
Our minimum driving age beliefs data is based on an online survey of 2,001 US adults over the age of 18 commissioned by Finder and conducted by Google Surveys from July 13, 2021, to August 12, 2021. Participants are users on websites in the Google Surveys Publisher Network and are unpaid.
We assume the participants in our survey represent the US population of 255.2 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 US Census Bureau population estimate. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2.2% margin of error.
Our survey asked respondents whether they believed that the minimum driving age should be raised, lowered, or kept the same in their state with the possible selections:
- Raised
- Lowered
- Kept the same
For our state-to-state comparison, we excluded states with less than 10 respondents from that state.
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Susannah Binsted, Head of Public Relations United States
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