Special Report
States With the Highest (and Lowest) Gas Prices
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The price of gas, a necessity for most Americans, tends to be somewhat unpredictable. The common, often erratic, fluctuations are due to basic supply and demand factors, but the price of gas also changes with the seasons, after natural disasters, and due to other events in the United States or around the world. The average price of gas also varies widely by state.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the latest recorded price of gasoline in all 50 states from the American Petroleum Institute. As of March 20, the average price of one gallon of regular gasoline was $3.07 in Hawaii, the highest of all states. In South Carolina, gas cost $2.01 per gallon, the lowest of all states.
The price of gasoline is a daily concern for most people living in the United States. Of Americans 16 and older, 87.5% drive at least occasionally. The average driver spends 47.1 minutes driving every day, according to a 2015 survey published by the AAA Foundation.
Click here to see the states with the highest and lowest gas prices.
If gas prices are lower than expected in a given year, the volume of summer travel plans almost always goes up. Similarly, residents of states where gas prices are lower than average tend to drive more. By contrast, most drivers in the states with above-average gas prices report lower-than-average annual vehicle miles travelled.
Taxes and fees account for a large share of the cost of gasoline regardless of where the fuel is purchased. The federal government charges 18.4 cents on every gallon purchased in the country. Taxes and fees make up as little as 4.4% of the price per gallon in Alaska, and as much as 23.4% of the price per gallon in Pennsylvania.
To identify the states with the highest gasoline prices, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed statewide average prices per gallon of regular gasoline on March 20 from the American Automobile Association’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Total state motor fuel taxes and fees as of January 2017 come from the American Petroleum Institute. Annual vehicle miles traveled per licensee were calculated using data from the Federal Highway Administration’s 2015 Highway Statistics report. Regional parity data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis were used as a proxy for cost of living.
These are the states with the highest and lowest gas prices.
50. South Carolina
> Price per gallon: $2.01
> State tax per gallon: $0.17 (2nd lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,041 (20th lowest)
> Cost of living: 9.5% lower than nation
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49. Tennessee
> Price per gallon: $2.04
> State tax per gallon: $0.21 (10th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 16,590 (12th highest)
> Cost of living: 9.8% lower than nation
48. Alabama
> Price per gallon: $2.05
> State tax per gallon: $0.23 (14th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 17,214 (7th highest)
> Cost of living: 12.2% lower than nation
47. Mississippi
> Price per gallon: $2.06
> State tax per gallon: $0.19 (5th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 20,062 (2nd highest)
> Cost of living: 13.3% lower than nation
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46. Arkansas
> Price per gallon: $2.08
> State tax per gallon: $0.22 (11th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 16,464 (13th highest)
> Cost of living: 12.5% lower than nation
45. Texas
> Price per gallon: $2.09
> State tax per gallon: $0.20 (8th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 16,255 (14th highest)
> Cost of living: 3.4% lower than nation
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44. Virginia
> Price per gallon: $2.09
> State tax per gallon: $0.22 (13th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,196 (22nd lowest)
> Cost of living: 2.6% higher than nation
43. Oklahoma
> Price per gallon: $2.09
> State tax per gallon: $0.17 (3rd lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 18,199 (5th highest)
> Cost of living: 9.9% lower than nation
42. Louisiana
> Price per gallon: $2.10
> State tax per gallon: $0.20 (9th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,352 (25th highest)
> Cost of living: 8.6% lower than nation
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41. Missouri
> Price per gallon: $2.10
> State tax per gallon: $0.17 (4th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 17,069 (10th highest)
> Cost of living: 10.6% lower than nation
40. Kansas
> Price per gallon: $2.15
> State tax per gallon: $0.24 (19th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 15,468 (19th highest)
> Cost of living: 9.3% lower than nation
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39. Kentucky
> Price per gallon: $2.16
> State tax per gallon: $0.26 (20th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 16,111 (15th highest)
> Cost of living: 11.3% lower than nation
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38. Georgia
> Price per gallon: $2.17
> State tax per gallon: $0.31 (20th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 17,102 (9th highest)
> Cost of living: 8.0% lower than nation
37. North Carolina
> Price per gallon: $2.17
> State tax per gallon: $0.35 (10th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 15,624 (17th highest)
> Cost of living: 8.3% lower than nation
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36. New Hampshire
> Price per gallon: $2.19
> State tax per gallon: $0.24 (17th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,183 (8th lowest)
> Cost of living: 5.2% higher than nation
35. Colorado
> Price per gallon: $2.19
> State tax per gallon: $0.22 (12th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,690 (12th lowest)
> Cost of living: 2.0% higher than nation
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34. Ohio
> Price per gallon: $2.20
> State tax per gallon: $0.28 (23rd lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,346 (25th lowest)
> Cost of living: 10.7% lower than nation
33. Delaware
> Price per gallon: $2.21
> State tax per gallon: $0.23 (tied-15th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,374 (17th lowest)
> Cost of living: 1.9% higher than nation
32. Indiana
> Price per gallon: $2.22
> State tax per gallon: $0.34 (13th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 17,641 (6th highest)
> Cost of living: 8.6% lower than nation
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31. New Mexico
> Price per gallon: $2.23
> State tax per gallon: $0.19 (6th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 18,692 (3rd highest)
> Cost of living: 5.0% lower than nation
30. Minnesota
> Price per gallon: $2.23
> State tax per gallon: $0.29 (25th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 17,125 (8th highest)
> Cost of living: 2.4% lower than nation
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29. Arizona
> Price per gallon: $2.23
> State tax per gallon: $0.19 (7th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,064 (14th lowest)
> Cost of living: 3.6% lower than nation
28. Wisconsin
> Price per gallon: $2.24
> State tax per gallon: $0.33 (17th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,798 (21st highest)
> Cost of living: 6.6% lower than nation
27. Wyoming
> Price per gallon: $2.25
> State tax per gallon: $0.24 (18th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 22,718 (the highest)
> Cost of living: 3.8% lower than nation
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26. Massachusetts
> Price per gallon: $2.25
> State tax per gallon: $0.27 (21st lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 11,756 (7th lowest)
> Cost of living: 7.1% higher than nation
25. West Virginia
> Price per gallon: $2.25
> State tax per gallon: $0.32 (18th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 16,984 (11th highest)
> Cost of living: 11.1% lower than nation
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24. Florida
> Price per gallon: $2.26
> State tax per gallon: $0.37 (9th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,512 (23rd highest)
> Cost of living: 0.9% lower than nation
23. Rhode Island
> Price per gallon: $2.26
> State tax per gallon: $0.34 (12th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 10,507 (2nd lowest)
> Cost of living: 1.3% lower than nation
22. Maine
> Price per gallon: $2.27
> State tax per gallon: $0.30 (23rd highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,344 (24th lowest)
> Cost of living: 2.9% lower than nation
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21. Vermont
> Price per gallon: $2.28
> State tax per gallon: $0.30 (22nd highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,327 (16th lowest)
> Cost of living: 1.2% higher than nation
20. New Jersey
> Price per gallon: $2.28
> State tax per gallon: $0.37 (8th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,201 (9th lowest)
> Cost of living: 14.5% higher than nation
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19. North Dakota
> Price per gallon: $2.29
> State tax per gallon: $0.23 (tied-15th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 18,414 (4th highest)
> Cost of living: 8.5% lower than nation
18. Nebraska
> Price per gallon: $2.29
> State tax per gallon: $0.28 (24th lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,417 (24th highest)
> Cost of living: 9.4% lower than nation
17. Iowa
> Price per gallon: $2.30
> State tax per gallon: $0.31 (21st highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,910 (20th highest)
> Cost of living: 9.7% lower than nation
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16. Maryland
> Price per gallon: $2.30
> State tax per gallon: $0.34 (15th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,741 (18th lowest)
> Cost of living: 10.3% higher than nation
15. South Dakota
> Price per gallon: $2.32
> State tax per gallon: $0.30 (24th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,220 (23rd lowest)
> Cost of living: 12.0% lower than nation
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14. Illinois
> Price per gallon: $2.35
> State tax per gallon: $0.34 (11th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,435 (11th lowest)
> Cost of living: 0.7% higher than nation
13. Montana
> Price per gallon: $2.36
> State tax per gallon: $0.28 (22nd lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 15,798 (16th highest)
> Cost of living: 5.8% lower than nation
12. Michigan
> Price per gallon: $2.36
> State tax per gallon: $0.40 (5th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,772 (19th lowest)
> Cost of living: 5.9% lower than nation
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11. Connecticut
> Price per gallon: $2.39
> State tax per gallon: $0.40 (6th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,308 (10th lowest)
> Cost of living: 8.8% higher than nation
10. New York
> Price per gallon: $2.43
> State tax per gallon: $0.44 (4th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 10,884 (4th lowest)
> Cost of living: 15.7% higher than nation
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9. Utah
> Price per gallon: $2.46
> State tax per gallon: $0.29 (25th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 15,470 (18th highest)
> Cost of living: 3.0% lower than nation
8. Pennsylvania
> Price per gallon: $2.49
> State tax per gallon: $0.58 (the highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 11,288 (5th lowest)
> Cost of living: 1.8% lower than nation
7. Idaho
> Price per gallon: $2.49
> State tax per gallon: $0.33 (16th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,680 (22nd highest)
> Cost of living: 6.6% lower than nation
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6. Nevada
> Price per gallon: $2.66
> State tax per gallon: $0.34 (14th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 14,124 (21st lowest)
> Cost of living: 2.3% lower than nation
5. Oregon
> Price per gallon: $2.68
> State tax per gallon: $0.31 (19th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 12,817 (13th lowest)
> Cost of living: 1.0% lower than nation
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4. Alaska
> Price per gallon: $2.80
> State tax per gallon: $0.12 (the lowest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 9,462 (the lowest)
> Cost of living: 5.7% higher than nation
3. Washington
> Price per gallon: $2.85
> State tax per gallon: $0.49 (2nd highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 10,814 (3rd lowest)
> Cost of living: 3.8% higher than nation
2. California
> Price per gallon: $2.99
> State tax per gallon: $0.38 (7th highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 13,141 (15th lowest)
> Cost of living: 12.4% higher than nation
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1. Hawaii
> Price per gallon: $3.07
> State tax per gallon: $0.44 (3rd highest)
> Annual miles traveled per driver: 11,322 (6th lowest)
> Cost of living: 16.8% higher than nation
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