Ouch! South Florida next to last in car affordability -- with insurance included

South Florida is an expensive place to drive around: We rank 24th out of 25 major cities in a new car affordability study conducted by Interest.com that is owned by North Palm Beach-based Bankrate.com.

The website determined people with the median income and car insurance costs in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties can only afford to spend $295 a month on car payments. The average new car, however, costs double that -- about $600 per month.

But we are not alone in being able to afford a new car.

Only median-income households in Washington, D.C. can afford the average-priced new car or light truck while median-income people in the other 24 largest metropolitan areas have to struggle, Interest.com found.

“What this research indicates, more than anything, is that a lot of Americans are spending too much money on their cars,” the website's managing editor Mike Sante said in a statement. “Car costs are one of the most controllable parts of a household’s budget."

The average price of a new car or light truck in 2012 was $30,550, according to TrueCar. That equals a monthly payment of about $601.

But Interest.com recommends that median-income South Florida households spend no more than $15,188 to buy a vehicle with the maximum monthly payment of $295, including principal and interest.

Here's a look at the top 25 metro areas, according to how much median-income people can pay:

1. Washington, D.C.

Affordable Purchase Price: $31,940
Maximum Monthly Payment: $628

2. San Francisco
Affordable Purchase Price: $26,786
Maximum Monthly Payment: $537

3. Boston
Affordable Purchase Price: $26,025
Maximum Monthly Payment: $507

4. Baltimore
Affordable Purchase Price: $24,079
Maximum Monthly Payment: $468

5. Minneapolis
Affordable Purchase Price: $24,042
Maximum Monthly Payment: $470

6. Seattle
Affordable Purchase Price: $22,963
Maximum Monthly Payment: $466

7. Portland, Ore.
Affordable Purchase Price: $21,985
Maximum Monthly Payment: $397

8. Denver
Affordable Purchase Price: $21,835
Maximum Monthly Payment: $432

9. San Diego
Affordable Purchase Price: $21,781
Maximum Monthly Payment: $433

10. New York City
Affordable Purchase Price: $21,464
Maximum Monthly Payment: $431

11. Philadelphia
Affordable Purchase Price: $21,069
Maximum Monthly Payment: $419