Gas prices are posted on every corner, but the national picture is harder to see. Each week the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) surveys retail stations and publishes average prices for the country, seven regions, nine states and ten large cities. Here is what the week of October 5, 2026 looked like.
The short version
- U.S. average for regular: $4.35 a gallon (week of October 5, 2026).
- Most expensive: San Francisco ($6.31), California ($6.23), Los Angeles ($6.21).
- Cheapest places EIA tracks: Ohio ($3.83), Houston ($3.84), Cleveland ($3.86), Texas ($3.87).
- Ohio and Cleveland fell more than 43¢ in a single week.
By region
| Region | Regular, per gallon | Change from prior week |
|---|---|---|
| West Coast | $5.73 | +0.3¢ |
| Rocky Mountain | $4.42 | −6.9¢ |
| Central Atlantic | $4.36 | −4.8¢ |
| New England | $4.34 | −2.6¢ |
| East Coast (overall) | $4.15 | −14.3¢ |
| Midwest | $4.11 | −18.2¢ |
| Lower Atlantic | $3.96 | −23.6¢ |
| Gulf Coast | $3.91 | −1.3¢ |
By state and city
| Place | Regular, per gallon |
|---|---|
| San Francisco | $6.31 |
| California | $6.23 |
| Los Angeles | $6.21 |
| Seattle | $5.66 |
| Washington | $5.42 |
| Chicago | $4.63 |
| New York | $4.38 |
| New York City | $4.34 |
| Boston | $4.33 |
| Massachusetts | $4.30 |
| Minnesota | $4.20 |
| Miami | $4.08 |
| Colorado | $4.02 |
| Denver | $3.98 |
| Florida | $3.97 |
| Texas | $3.87 |
| Cleveland | $3.86 |
| Houston | $3.84 |
| Ohio | $3.83 |
Current prices, updated every week, are on our gas prices page, with separate pages for places like Houston, New York City, Denver and Seattle.
Why the West Coast pays the most
EIA breaks the price of a gallon into crude oil, refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes. In 2025, crude oil was 51.4% of the average price, refining 16.6%, distribution and marketing 17.8%, and taxes 14.3%. Crude affects the whole country at once; the other three explain the gaps between places.
- Taxes: the federal gas tax is 18.4¢ a gallon everywhere, and state taxes averaged about 33.6¢ as of January 2026, with big differences by state.
- Special fuel blends: California requires a cleaner-burning blend that fewer refineries make.
- Supply routes: the West Coast is largely cut off from the Gulf Coast’s refineries and pipelines, so local refinery problems hit prices harder.
Our guide on why gas costs more in some states goes deeper.
Why prices can drop 40 cents in a week
Regional prices move with wholesale supply. When a refinery returns from maintenance or a pipeline delivers more fuel, stations in that market can cut prices quickly. That is what a 46.7¢ weekly drop in Cleveland looks like. The reverse happens just as fast after an outage.
Example
Jordan drives 1,000 miles a month in a car that gets 28 miles per gallon, about 35.7 gallons. At Houston’s $3.84, that’s about $137 a month; at San Francisco’s $6.31, about $225. Same driving, $88 apart.
How to pay less
- Use a price app or your map’s gas layer to compare stations on your route.
- Ask about cash prices; some stations charge less than for cards.
- Fill up before crossing into a higher-priced state on a road trip.
- Keep tires properly inflated and avoid hard acceleration.
To see what a fill-up costs, read how much it costs to fill up a tank.
How the national average moved
| Week of | U.S. average, regular |
|---|---|
| August 24, 2026 | $4.09 |
| August 31, 2026 | $4.07 |
| September 7, 2026 | $4.16 |
| September 14, 2026 | $4.32 |
| September 21, 2026 | $4.48 |
| September 28, 2026 | $4.47 |
| October 5, 2026 | $4.35 |
Prices climbed about 41¢ through September and then eased. Weekly swings of this size are common; what matters for a budget is the average over a few months.
What a price change means over a year
For a driver covering 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg (480 gallons), every 10-cent change in the price adds or removes $48 a year. A 50-cent swing is $240 a year, about $20 a month.
How EIA collects these prices
EIA surveys a sample of retail gasoline stations every Monday and publishes the averages the same day or the next. The prices include all taxes. EIA reports weekly figures for the nation, regions, nine states and ten metropolitan areas, which is why our state list covers only those nine.
