Gas Prices by State: Why a Gallon Costs So Much More in Some States
Prices as of September 04, 2026, per AAA · Updated September 04, 2026
As of September 04, 2026, regular gasoline averages $5.81/gallon in California and $3.45 in Indiana, per AAA; the national average is $4.07 (EIA, week of August 31, 2026). Crude oil costs every state's refiners the same ($2.00/gal at August 2026 WTI prices), so the gap between states comes almost entirely from taxes, fuel specifications, and refining and distribution logistics.
Gasoline prices across the states
Average price for regular, September 04, 2026. Darker means more expensive. Click a state for its full price breakdown.
All states, ranked
| State | Regular ($/gal) | Diesel ($/gal) | State fuel taxes (¢/gal) | vs U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 5.81 | 7.71 | 73.6 | 1.74 above |
| Washington | 5.48 | 6.81 | 60.2 | 1.41 above |
| Hawaii | 5.42 | 7.00 | 18.5 | 1.35 above |
| Alaska | 5.00 | 6.01 | 8.9 | 0.93 above |
| Oregon | 5.00 | 6.17 | 40.0 | 0.93 above |
| Nevada | 4.95 | 6.17 | 24.8 | 0.88 above |
| Idaho | 4.62 | 5.77 | 33.0 | 0.55 above |
| Arizona | 4.53 | 5.97 | 19.0 | 0.46 above |
| Utah | 4.42 | 5.63 | 32.5 | 0.35 above |
| Montana | 4.38 | 5.64 | 33.8 | 0.31 above |
| Wyoming | 4.37 | 5.59 | 24.0 | 0.30 above |
| Illinois | 4.31 | 5.82 | 70.4 | 0.24 above |
| Pennsylvania | 4.30 | 6.08 | 58.7 | 0.23 above |
| New York | 4.30 | 5.89 | 24.2 | 0.23 above |
| Vermont | 4.29 | 5.81 | 34.9 | 0.22 above |
| Connecticut | 4.29 | 5.86 | 25.0 | 0.22 above |
| New Jersey | 4.25 | 5.84 | 49.1 | 0.18 above |
| Colorado | 4.24 | 5.55 | 30.2 | 0.17 above |
| Rhode Island | 4.22 | 5.75 | 41.1 | 0.15 above |
| District of Columbia | 4.20 | 5.90 | 35.3 | 0.13 above |
| Massachusetts | 4.19 | 5.79 | 27.6 | 0.12 above |
| Maine | 4.18 | 5.87 | 31.4 | 0.11 above |
| New Hampshire | 4.14 | 5.74 | 23.8 | 0.07 above |
| Delaware | 4.12 | 5.88 | 23.0 | 0.05 above |
| New Mexico | 4.05 | 5.82 | 18.9 | 0.02 below |
| Michigan | 4.05 | 5.80 | 53.4 | 0.02 below |
| Maryland | 4.01 | 5.95 | 46.8 | 0.06 below |
| South Dakota | 4.01 | 5.44 | 30.0 | 0.06 below |
| Minnesota | 3.98 | 5.73 | 32.7 | 0.09 below |
| North Dakota | 3.97 | 5.54 | 23.0 | 0.10 below |
| Virginia | 3.96 | 5.89 | 42.4 | 0.11 below |
| Florida | 3.95 | 5.68 | 40.1 | 0.12 below |
| Ohio | 3.94 | 5.85 | 38.5 | 0.13 below |
| West Virginia | 3.93 | 5.70 | 35.7 | 0.14 below |
| Iowa | 3.91 | 5.66 | 30.0 | 0.16 below |
| Nebraska | 3.90 | 5.56 | 32.7 | 0.17 below |
| Georgia | 3.90 | 5.64 | 34.0 | 0.17 below |
| Kentucky | 3.86 | 5.53 | 26.4 | 0.21 below |
| North Carolina | 3.85 | 5.77 | 41.2 | 0.22 below |
| Tennessee | 3.83 | 5.59 | 27.4 | 0.24 below |
| Missouri | 3.82 | 5.45 | 30.0 | 0.25 below |
| Wisconsin | 3.82 | 5.65 | 32.9 | 0.25 below |
| Alabama | 3.80 | 5.57 | 31.0 | 0.27 below |
| Arkansas | 3.78 | 5.51 | 25.0 | 0.29 below |
| Kansas | 3.78 | 5.43 | 25.0 | 0.29 below |
| South Carolina | 3.77 | 5.68 | 28.8 | 0.30 below |
| Louisiana | 3.77 | 5.47 | 20.9 | 0.30 below |
| Mississippi | 3.73 | 5.50 | 24.4 | 0.34 below |
| Oklahoma | 3.71 | 5.38 | 20.0 | 0.36 below |
| Texas | 3.69 | 5.46 | 20.0 | 0.38 below |
| Indiana | 3.45 | 5.85 | 63.1 | 0.62 below |
What actually makes a state expensive
- Taxes. State fuel taxes and fees range from 8.9¢ to 73.6¢ per gallon (Tax Foundation, 2026), on top of the 18.4¢ federal excise. This is the single largest policy-controlled difference between states.
- Fuel specifications and carbon programs. Some states require special gasoline blends or operate carbon-pricing programs whose costs are embedded in the pump price rather than listed as a tax; each state page itemizes these where they apply.
- Refining and distribution logistics. The West Coast is a largely isolated refining market with no pipeline connection to Gulf Coast refineries, so supply disruptions there raise prices further and for longer.
Prices and state political control
Average pump price and average state fuel tax, grouped by which party holds the governorship and both legislative chambers (September 04, 2026 prices; control as of 2025):
| State government control | States | Avg regular ($/gal) | Avg state fuel tax (¢/gal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unified Democratic | 16 | 4.49 | 38.9 |
| Divided or other | 13 | 4.19 | 32.8 |
| Unified Republican | 22 | 3.95 | 30.4 |
The tax column is most of the story: fuel-tax levels are set by legislatures, and the price gap between the groups closely tracks the tax gap plus state fuel-specification and carbon-program costs itemized on the state pages. Crude oil costs all states the same.
See also gasoline affordability (minutes of work per gallon, monthly since 1978, and gallons per hour of median-wage work by state), gasoline prices by country (the U.S. is among the cheapest in the developed world), EV vs. gas cost by state, and electricity rates by state. The U.S. refining hub maps current refinery capacity and explains the weekly gasoline and diesel product-price proxies.
Sources: AAA state averages (pump prices; the industry-standard 50-state series — no government source publishes all-state pump prices), Tax Foundation (state fuel taxes, 2026), EIA (WTI crude, national weekly average). See methodology.