U.S. gas prices have risen by almost a dollar a gallon on average over the past month due to the conflict in Ukraine.
But prices can also vary greatly from state to state, depending on government policies, taxes, and proximity to refineries. The average cost of regular unleaded gasoline in the US is $4.33 per gallon, but in nine states it costs more than $4.50 per gallon, according to gas prices provided by the American Automobile Association.
Here’s a look at how much a gallon of gasoline costs in each state as of Monday using AAA data.
The most expensive state to buy gasoline is California, where a gallon costs an average of $5.74. That’s almost $2 more than Kansas, the cheapest state to buy gas.
Here are the most expensive states to buy gas:
And these are the states where gas costs the least:
According to government data, the average driver drives 39 miles a day and his car uses an average of 24.2 miles per gallon of gasoline. That works out to $9.26 a day for gas in California and $6.15 in Kansas—a difference of about $100 a month.
In 2021, when gas prices averaged $2.86 a gallon nationwide, the average driver paid just $4.61 a day. This represents an increase in monthly gas costs of about $80-$125 in the last year alone.
However, these prices do not necessarily reflect actual gas consumption, as drivers differ in how many miles they drive per day. For example, drivers in Wyoming have relatively cheap gas but drive an average of 24,069 miles a year—almost double that in California, according to the Federal Highway Administration.