Where the numbers come from

Every figure on this site is official, public and reproducible. Here's exactly what we use and what we don't.

Retail prices

Weekly averages of regular, midgrade, premium and diesel from the EIA's Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, for the United States, its regions, nine states and eight cities. We download each series in full, so every change and every year-over-year comparison is calculated from the agency's own numbers.

States without their own series

For the 41 states and D.C. the EIA doesn't survey separately, the page shows the average of their region and says so in the headline. We don't estimate state prices, because an estimate presented as a price would be misleading.

Taxes

State gasoline and diesel taxes and fees come from the EIA's compilation of federal and state motor fuel taxes, updated every January and July, with history back to 2015. Local and sales taxes aren't included.

The wholesale signal

Daily spot prices for Gulf Coast gasoline and ultra-low-sulfur diesel, and for Brent crude, also from the EIA. We compare the last five trading days with the five before and show both date ranges. It's a signal, not a forecast.

What we leave out

Station-by-station prices, crowd-sourced reports and commercial price feeds. They may be useful, but they can't be verified or republished, and that's the standard this site holds itself to.