Sandra Park
If you travel by RV, fuel is not a line item you can ignore. It is usually the single biggest cost of any trip, and unlike campground fees or groceries, it swings by a dollar a gallon or more depending on which state you happen to be driving through. The table below pulls current national and state-level prices straight from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refreshes every week, so you can plan fill-ups around where fuel is actually cheap instead of guessing.
| State | Regular Gas | Diesel | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska AK | $4.83 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| Alabama AL | $3.34 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Arkansas AR | $3.34 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Arizona AZ | $4.83 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| California CA | $5.17 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| Colorado CO | $3.52 | $4.48 | Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) |
| Connecticut CT | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Washington DC DC | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Delaware DE | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Florida FL | $3.67 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Georgia GA | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Hawaii HI | $4.83 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| Iowa IA | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Idaho ID | $3.66 | $4.48 | Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) |
| Illinois IL | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Indiana IN | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Kansas KS | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Kentucky KY | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Louisiana LA | $3.34 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Massachusetts MA | $3.79 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Maryland MD | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Maine ME | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Michigan MI | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Minnesota MN | $3.59 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Missouri MO | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Mississippi MS | $3.34 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Montana MT | $3.66 | $4.48 | Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) |
| North Carolina NC | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| North Dakota ND | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Nebraska NE | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| New Hampshire NH | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| New Jersey NJ | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| New Mexico NM | $3.34 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Nevada NV | $4.83 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| New York NY | $3.93 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Ohio OH | $3.56 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Oklahoma OK | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Oregon OR | $4.83 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| Pennsylvania PA | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Rhode Island RI | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| South Carolina SC | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| South Dakota SD | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Tennessee TN | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| Texas TX | $3.29 | $4.22 | Gulf Coast (PADD 3) |
| Utah UT | $3.66 | $4.48 | Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) |
| Virginia VA | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Vermont VT | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Washington WA | $4.90 | $5.42 | West Coast (PADD 5) |
| Wisconsin WI | $3.53 | $4.46 | Midwest (PADD 2) |
| West Virginia WV | $3.70 | $4.69 | East Coast (PADD 1) |
| Wyoming WY | $3.66 | $4.48 | Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). National figures are weekly retail averages; states without a direct EIA series show their PADD regional price. Refreshed weekly.
How to read this table for trip planning
The two numbers that matter for most rigs are regular gas and diesel. Gas-powered Class C and Class B rigs, plus anyone towing with a half-ton truck, watch the regular column. Diesel pushers and three-quarter-ton and one-ton tow vehicles live in the diesel column, and you have probably already noticed diesel usually runs higher per gallon than gas. It is not your imagination, and it is worth building into your per-mile math.
The regional grouping is the part most people miss. The EIA publishes direct weekly retail prices for a handful of high-population states, and everywhere else is reported by petroleum region, called a PADD. States in the same region tend to move together. If you know the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) is running cheap, you can reasonably expect Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to all be near that number, which is useful when you are routing across several states in a week.
Where fuel is cheapest, and why it matters more than you think
The Gulf Coast is almost always the cheapest fuel in the country because that is where a large share of U.S. refining capacity sits. The West Coast, especially California, is consistently the most expensive thanks to state taxes and a special cleaner-burning fuel blend that other states do not require. That spread is not small. On a 40-gallon tank, a dollar-a-gallon difference is 40 dollars, and on a long haul with multiple fill-ups it adds up to real money that could have gone toward campsites.
The practical move is simple. When your route crosses a region border, top off on the cheaper side before you cross. If you are leaving Texas heading west, fill up before you hit New Mexico and Arizona. If you are dropping down out of the mountains toward California, do not roll in on a quarter tank.
Building fuel into your real cost per mile
Here is the math I run before every long trip. Take your rig’s honest miles per gallon, not the brochure number. A big gas Class A might get 7 to 9 miles per gallon. A diesel pusher might see 9 to 12. A van build could hit the high teens. Divide the current price per gallon by your real MPG and you get your fuel cost per mile. At 8 MPG and 3.83 a gallon, that is about 48 cents a mile in fuel alone, before you have paid for a single night of camping. Knowing that number turns a vague “this trip feels expensive” into a plan you can actually budget.
A few habits that quietly save money
Slowing down helps more than anything else. Aerodynamics punish a boxy RV hard above 62 to 65 miles per hour, and dropping from 70 to 62 can noticeably improve your mileage. Keep your tires at the pressure printed on your rig’s placard, because underinflated tires waste fuel and run dangerously hot under RV weight. And use a fuel-price app in tandem with this page: this table tells you the regional trend to plan around, and the app finds the cheapest individual station once you are in town.
