If you’ve pulled up to a pump in Los Angeles lately and felt your soul leave your body, this map is either going to make you feel worse — or inspire your next road trip.
This map that few people know about shows you the cheapest gas prices in the entire country, and also lets you search by state, by county, and by fuel grade. AAA updates its State Gas Price Averages map every single day. It’s free, it’s easy to read, and it is genuinely one of the most useful tools on the internet for anyone who drives.
So where is gas the cheapest right now? Let’s get into it.
The cheapest states for gas right now
As of May 13, the national average for regular sits at $4.511 per gallon. But if you happen to be road-tripping through the South or the Midwest, you’re laughing. Here are the states with the cheapest regular gas prices in the country right now:
- Oklahoma: $3.980 🏆
- Mississippi: $3.986
- Louisiana: $3.998
- Georgia: $4.004
- Texas: $4.009
- Arkansas: $4.031
Oklahoma takes the crown as the cheapest state in the nation, with regular gas sitting just under $4 a gallon. Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas are all right behind it. If you’re doing a Southern road trip, your wallet is going to have a very good time.
And the most expensive?
Yeah. It’s us.
California clocks in at $6.148 per gallon for regular — making it the single most expensive state in the contiguous U.S. for gas. That’s nearly $2.21 more per gallon than Oklahoma.
The other expensive states rounding out the painful end of the map:
- Washington: $5.771
- Hawaii: $5.651
- Oregon: $5.342
- Alaska: $5.263
- Nevada: $5.234
So yes, if you live on the West Coast, you are absolutely getting hit the hardest.
California has a secret: check by county
Here’s the part most people don’t know — the AAA map doesn’t just show you state averages. You can drill down by metro area and county, which means you can actually find the cheapest gas within California itself.
And the differences are real. As of today, the cheapest metro areas in California for gas are:
- El Centro
- Yuba City
- Chico-Paradise
- Redding
- Hanford-Corcoran
- Modesto
- Stockton-Lodi
- Yolo
AAA’s map will be your best friend for planning ahead. If you’re heading out of state, check it before you leave and top off your tank somewhere cheaper. And if you’re staying in LA? Well. We hope you enjoy the scenery on the way to the pump.
👉 Check the live map here: gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages