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Thursday, March 23, 2023

Average gas prices by state in 2022

Average gas prices by state in 2022

woman at the gas pump

Key takeaways

The average national gas price is over $1 more than it was the year prior.

By
The Currency

06.16.2022

If you’re feeling sticker shock at the pump, it’s not without reason.

See where the national average price-per-gallon sits at today.1

From May 2021 to May 2022, overall gasoline prices rose 48.7% according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.2

And Empower proprietary data shows that consumers spent 35% more per transaction during that same time period.*

Month

Overall spend

Spend per transaction

May 2022

$251

$57

May 2021

$186

$42

Cost of inflation

The thing about inflation is this: Not all industries have been impacted the same. Overall, consumer inflation was up 8.6% in May 2022.

The price of medical care services, for instance, was up by 4% while the cost of airline fares surged by 37.8%.3Gas prices, further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are high compared to the year prior.4

The good news? Given the rise of remote work, not everyone feels the pinch on their overall budget. For remote workers, the pandemic may have offered both an incentive and an opportunity to cut costs.

The bad news? For workers who have to commute every day, it probably stings.

U.S. gas prices

To draw a comparison, we took a look at gas prices using data from AAA. National average prices from June 2022 are:5

  • Regular unleaded: $4.113
  • Mid-grade: $4.561
  • Premium: $4.856
  • Diesel: $5.193
  • E85: $3.386

For comparison, in June 2021, the national average prices were:

  • Regular unleaded: $3.075
  • Mid-grade: $3.422
  • Premium: $3.692
  • Diesel: $3.217
  • E85: $2.584

As you can see, the average national gas price is over $1 more than it was the year prior.

So how does your state compare to the rest of the nation? Check out the full list below (as of June 2022).

Average gas prices by state

State

Regular

Mid-grade

Premium

Diesel

Alaska

$5.605

$5.758

$5.945

$5.898

Alabama

$4.622

$4.956

$5.315

$5.642

Arkansas

$4.536

$4.857

$5.175

$5.331

Arizona

$5.381

$5.649

$5.932

$5.923

California

$6.428

$6.627

$6.761

$7.002

Colorado

$4.907

$5.238

$5.538

$5.518

Connecticut

$4.980

$5.360

$5.718

$6.167

District of Columbia

$5.220

$5.711

$6.008

$6.220

Delaware

$4.985

$5.391

$5.669

$5.953

Florida

$4.869

$5.242

$5.560

$5.716

Georgia

$4.497

$4.859

$5.214

$5.548

Hawaii

$5.549

$5.747

$5.998

$6.116

Iowa

$4.758

$4.923

$5.380

$5.348

Idaho

$5.163

$5.347

$5.559

$5.815

Illinois

$5.544

$5.983

$6.357

$5.709

Indiana

$5.190

$5.557

$5.887

$5.907

Kansas

$4.671

$4.941

$5.227

$5.284

Kentucky

$4.771

$5.123

$5.453

$5.828

Louisiana

$4.553

$4.879

$5.205

$5.344

Massachusetts

$5.039

$5.429

$5.715

$6.195

Maryland

$5.014

$5.478

$5.766

$5.979

Maine

$5.094

$5.425

$5.730

$6.170

Michigan

$5.204

$5.544

$5.894

$5.890

Minnesota

$4.758

$4.998

$5.358

$5.465

Missouri

$4.683

$4.970

$5.275

$5.283

Mississippi

$4.519

$4.836

$5.173

$5.357

Montana

$4.961

$5.237

$5.508

$5.769

North Carolina

$4.655

$5.003

$5.357

$5.740

North Dakota

$4.797

$5.098

$5.401

$5.512

Nebraska

$4.787

$4.917

$5.367

$5.283

New Hampshire

$4.981

$5.358

$5.684

$6.179

New Jersey

$5.037

$5.506

$5.729

$6.074

New Mexico

$4.824

$5.146

$5.415

$5.584

Nevada

$5.675

$5.897

$6.103

$6.041

New York

$5.036

$5.416

$5.712

$6.296

Ohio

$5.026

$5.376

$5.722

$6.000

Oklahoma

$4.665

$4.966

$5.199

$5.266

Oregon

$5.546

$5.736

$5.940

$6.200

Pennsylvania

$5.056

$5.407

$5.685

$6.188

Rhode Island

$5.005

$5.454

$5.762

$6.252

South Carolina

$4.590

$4.940

$5.289

$5.613

South Dakota

$4.796

$4.912

$5.348

$5.366

Tennessee

$4.630

$4.981

$5.333

$5.638

Texas

$4.691

$5.029

$5.346

$5.274

Utah

$5.077

$5.272

$5.467

$5.687

Virginia

$4.857

$5.270

$5.595

$5.825

Vermont

$5.052

$5.406

$5.754

$6.142

Washington

$5.555

$5.759

$5.945

$6.263

Wisconsin

$4.902

$5.296

$5.689

$5.440

West Virginia

$4.929

$5.216

$5.490

$5.949

Wyoming

$4.826

$5.058

$5.311

$5.666

 

Highest and lowest spend by state

That’s just the cost per gallon. Looking at Empower Personal DashboardTM users, we examined how much people are spending every time they fuel up. Costs vary widely by state.*

Here are the 10 states with the highest and lowest expenditures during each visit to a gas station in May 2022.

State

Spend per transaction

Alaska

$75.31

California

$68.42

Connecticut

$65.76

New Jersey

$64.38

New York

$63.31

Nebraska

$46.33

Missouri

$45.58

Vermont

$44.81

Wisconsin

$41.03

Iowa

$40.72

 

“There are many factors that can go into gas prices,” says Daniel Goldfarb, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. “In states with lower gas prices, it’s possible that there is less demand or it’s easier to transport the gas in those states.”

He says that in places where gas is the most expensive, it’s a combination of various factors.

“In California, there is a large population with high demand, and the fuel taxes in that state are also set higher than other states,” he says. “Consumers are often unaware of how high the percentage is that they pay for taxes in each gallon that they purchase at the fuel pump. Alaska is another state with increased delivery costs; therefore, the state has higher gas prices to offset these additional costs.”

1 AAA Gas Prices, August 2022.

2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2022.

3 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2022.

4 Wall Street Journal, “Why Are Gasoline Prices So High? Ukraine-Russia War Sparks Increases Across U.S.,” April 2022.

5 AAA Gas Prices, August 2022.

*Anonymized user data from the Empower Personal Dashboard™ as of May 2022.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design), and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

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Editors

The Currency is a personal finance publication powered by Empower and run by a team of writers and editors. We deliver the financial news and views you need to know for life, work and play.

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“EMPOWER” and all associated logos, and product names are trademarks of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America. This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide investment, legal or tax recommendations or advice. ©2023 Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America. All rights reserved.