Gas Prices by State, November 2026: Cheapest and Most Expensive States

Which states have the cheapest and most expensive gas in November 2026?

The AAA national average for regular gasoline was $4.1694 a gallon on 2 November ^[1]. Most states sit within 40 cents of that figure, but the extremes are far apart ^[1].

California is the most expensive state at $5.9063 ^[1]. Hawaii follows at $5.6566, then Nevada at $5.2373 and Washington at $5.1925 ^[1]. Oregon, Alaska and Illinois complete the top seven, all above $4.70 ^[1]. Every state in the top six is in the West.

North Carolina is the cheapest state at $3.3814 ^[1]. Georgia ($3.5750), Texas ($3.6453) and South Carolina ($3.6543) come next ^[1]. The ten cheapest states are all in the South or the southern Plains ^[1]. The gap between California and North Carolina is about $2.52 a gallon, a simple calculation from AAA's figures ^[1].

GasBuddy, which compiles station price reports, shows a similar ranking. Its lowest states on 2 November were North Carolina at $3.37, Georgia at $3.54 and Texas at $3.58 ^[3]. Its highest were California at $5.85, Hawaii at $5.64 and Washington at $5.14 ^[3]. The two services use different methods, so their state figures differ by a few cents ^[11].

How fast are gas prices falling this week?

Prices are falling quickly. GasBuddy's national average dropped 17.1 cents in the week to 2 November, to $4.12 a gallon ^[3]. That is 24.7 cents lower than a month earlier but $1.13 higher than a year ago ^[3]. GasBuddy described it as the biggest weekly drop in months ^[3].

The fall was broad. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said average gasoline prices "fell in nearly every state over the last week" ^[3]. He linked the decline to the end of refinery maintenance and weaker seasonal demand ^[3]. Colorado led the declines with a fall of 32.7 cents, followed by Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio ^[3].

Crude oil has also eased. GasBuddy reported West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $99.35 a barrel early on Monday, down $4.77 on the week ^[3]. Yahoo Finance reported that oil fell more than 6% on Monday after Iran's supreme leader indicated that Tehran was open to talks ^[5]. Gasoline futures fell 7.53% in the same session, according to the outlet ^[5].

De Haan wrote that the national average "could fall under $4 a gallon in the next week barring a course change" ^[5]. He also warned that "volatility could return quickly after the election" ^[3]. GasBuddy says developments around the Strait of Hormuz will probably decide the direction from here ^[3,4].

For context, this year's level is still high. On 2 November in the five previous years, GasBuddy's national average ranged from $2.99 in 2025 to $3.75 in 2022 ^[4]. The EIA's weekly series peaked at $5.006 in June 2022, and its 2026 high so far was $4.500 in May ^[7].

Why is gas so expensive in California and the West?

The West Coast is structurally the dearest region. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) put the West Coast average at $5.417 on 26 October, against $3.702 on the Gulf Coast ^[6]. California alone was $5.888, up $1.530 on a year earlier ^[6].

Refinery closures are one reason. Phillips 66 stopped processing crude at its 139,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) Los Angeles-area plant in October 2025 ^[9]. Valero planned to end refining at its 145,000 b/d Benicia site by the end of April 2026 ^[9]. Together they removed about 17.5% of the state's pre-closure crude capacity, according to California Today ^[9].

Taxes add to the gap. At the start of 2026, California's state taxes and fees on gasoline were the highest in the US, at 70.9 cents a gallon ^[8]. The state average was 33.3 cents, and Alaska's was the lowest at 9.0 cents ^[8]. A federal tax of 18.4 cents applies everywhere ^[8]. The state excise tax rose to 63.4 cents on 1 July ^[9]. Even so, California Today says taxes explain only a small part of the premium's growth ^[9].

California came close to its record this autumn. The EIA price reached $6.227 in the week of 5 October, 4.4 cents below the June 2022 record ^[9]. Governor Gavin Newsom suspended the summer-blend rules on 28 September so that cheaper winter fuel could be sold early ^[9].

Why did Midwest gas prices spike in late October?

A refinery problem near Chicago pushed several Great Lakes states sharply higher. On 22 October, ExxonMobil's Joliet refinery in Illinois had trouble with a 50,000 b/d catalytic reformer ^[10]. The company said it was "working to resolve an operational issue" but gave no timeline ^[10].

Prices reacted overnight. GasBuddy data cited by Bloomberg showed Ohio rising from $4.05 to $4.34 in a day ^[11]. Michigan went from $4.59 to $4.74 ^[11]. Oil analyst Tom Kloza said the moves were "pointing to $5/gallon prices in many cases" ^[10]. He still expected Great Lakes prices to fall before the month ended ^[10].

EIA data captured the spike. In the week to 26 October, Chicago's average rose 19.2 cents to $4.897 ^[6]. Cleveland's rose 22.6 cents to $4.316 ^[6]. The Midwest average climbed 12.4 cents while most other regions fell ^[6]. By 2 November, AAA had Michigan at $4.5225, down from $4.82 a week earlier ^[1,12]. Ohio was $4.1264 ^[1].

Which states have suspended their gas tax?

Gas tax holidays help explain why some neighbouring states differ. About a third of states had pursued some form of fuel tax relief by 1 October, according to Newsweek ^[14].

• Georgia suspended its 33.3-cent gasoline tax and 37.3-cent diesel tax on 28 September ^[13]. Governor Brian Kemp extended the suspension to 30 November, covering Thanksgiving travel ^[13]. Georgia is now the second-cheapest state ^[1].
• Indiana suspended its 7% sales tax on gasoline in April and its 36-cent excise tax in May ^[14]. Newsweek put the combined saving at about 61 cents a gallon ^[14]. The current order runs to 4 November, and Governor Mike Braun has said he is likely to extend it to early December ^[15].
• Ohio cut its 38.5-cent gas tax to almost nothing from 4 October to 2 January 2027 ^[12].
• Illinois paused a scheduled tax increase until 31 December but still collects 48.3 cents a gallon ^[12].
• Michigan still collects 52.4 cents a gallon. A proposed 90-day suspension did not reach a vote ^[12].

The effects are visible but partial. On 26 October, Michigan News Source reported Indiana about 84 cents cheaper than Michigan ^[12]. The outlet noted that tax differences alone do not explain the whole gap ^[12]. On 2 November, AAA had Indiana at $3.8075 and Michigan at $4.5225 ^[1].

How do diesel prices compare by state?

Diesel shows the same pattern at a higher level. AAA's diesel average was $8.3417 in California and $7.2512 in Washington on 2 November ^[1]. North Carolina was cheapest at $5.4910, with Georgia at $5.6567 ^[1]. GasBuddy put the national diesel average at $6.281, down 5.9 cents on the week ^[3]. Our diesel price forecast for winter 2026–27 sets out the official outlook in more detail.

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers face their own state gaps. AAA put the national average for public charging at 41 cents per kilowatt-hour on 29 October ^[2]. Hawaii was the dearest at 55 cents and Kansas the cheapest at 31 cents ^[2].

What to watch

The EIA's October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) expected retail gasoline to ease slowly with crude oil ^[16]. It forecast a US regular price of $3.91 for 2026 and $3.56 for 2027 ^[16]. It expected crack spreads, the refining margin over crude, to stay above seasonal averages into early 2027 because stocks are low ^[16]. Regionally, its fourth-quarter forecast ran from $3.65 on the Gulf Coast to $5.24 on the West Coast ^[16].

• New EIA data. The next weekly regional price update is due on 3 November ^[6].
• Tax holiday deadlines. Indiana's order expires on 4 November unless renewed ^[14,15]. Georgia's runs to 30 November ^[13].
• Crude oil and the Middle East. Hydrocarbon Engineering reports that the EIA forecast Brent at $105 a barrel for the fourth quarter ^[17]. Talks or new attacks around the Strait of Hormuz could move pump prices quickly, GasBuddy says ^[3].
• Thanksgiving. Holiday travel will test demand later this month. Our winter outlook for US gasoline and heating oil covers heating fuels.
• Midwest refining. De Haan noted that more refining capacity could return in the coming months ^[5]. Further outages in the Great Lakes region would test that view ^[10].

Alupetra follows US gasoline and diesel markets as part of its daily energy price coverage.