Washington passes California as most expensive state for gas: AAA (2024)

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Washington passes California as most expensive state for gas: AAA? ›

Washington state has overtaken California as the state with the highest gasoline prices. The average price of regular gas in Washington is $4.93 a gallon, up 33 cents from the same time a month ago, according to AAA.

“The Washington program is designed to force rapid cuts to carbon intensity in a way that requires consumers to pay higher gasoline prices.” The cap-and-invest program is designed to decrease carbon emissions in the state to meet 2035 and 2050 decarbonization goals.

Prices in Washington are higher partly because of taxes and costs from climate initiatives, but station prices can vary – even in the same city. Analysts said prices in Washington state are also being driven by extensive refinery maintenance along the West Coast.

A customer refuels a vehicle at a Costco gas station in Federal Way, Washington, U.S, on Thursday, March 10, 2022. Drivers in the state of Washington are celebrating the official start of summer with an unwelcome sight: America's most expensive gas prices.

For years, California typically has the nation's most expensive gasoline, due to higher taxes and the state's clean fuel requirements. According to media reports out of Seattle, this is the first time Washington has posted the nation's highest average price per gallon.

"California has its own blend of gasoline, it has very high taxes, and it has a cap-and-trade program," De Haan said. "All of those factor into what you pay at the pump."

Why is Washington State so expensive? ›

How did housing in Washington become so expensive? Many factors contribute to housing costs, including increasing demand from a growing population, supply that is constrained by local zoning and tight urban growth boundaries, and permitting costs.

Washington has one of the highest gas taxes in the country at 49.4 cents-per-gallon. Those taxes are how the state has funded many recent highway projects. Oregon has, by comparison, a much lower gas tax — 38 cents-per-gallon. That's one reason Oregon has a harder time funding highway and bridge improvements.

From 2015 and 2022, a gallon of regular gasoline in Washington was on average 11 cents more than in Oregon. Since January, that spread has more than tripled, to 37 cents. Experts point out that a fundamental difference between the two states is that Oregon hasn't yet rolled out a carbon-pricing or cap program.

Virginia gas tax is $0.262 per gallon, which supports the state's efforts to integrate transportation technologies for more efficient traffic management. Washington gas tax is $0.494 per gallon, with proceeds dedicated to earthquake retrofitting projects for bridges and infrastructure in this seismically active state.

Washington's new tax on CO2 emissions ended up adding about 43 cents per gallon of gas for 2023. The final price was reduced by several market interventions by Department of Ecology staff, but prices are likely to increase next year.

Residents of Hong Kong pay the highest international gas prices, with 1 gallon setting them back $11.43. Iceland comes in second at $8.91 per gallon, followed by Monaco at $8.49 per gallon. At the other end of the spectrum, Venezuelans pay just 1.6 cents for a gallon of gas, the cheapest price on the planet.

The big picture: The national average of regular gas stood at $3.58 per gallon Wednesday, with the cheapest metro being Hattiesburg, Mississippi at $2.93 a gallon and the most expensive nearly double that in Lihue (Kauai), Hawaii at $5.22.