Across the nation, states are raising their gas taxes. Leading the way, California now with a 70.9-cent per-gallon state excise tax.
The Tax Foundation says the “gas tax is meant to function as a user fee, charging drivers to fund the construction and maintenance of the roads they use.”
States apply tax gas in a variety of ways; most add tax at the pump, some charge sales taxes on fuel suppliers, and others tack on extra fees like “underground storage tank fees.”
All of these charges add differently, which is why gas taxes—and gas prices—can look very different from one state to another.
National Scale
The Tax Foundation shows in their 2025 data that California took the top seat, followed by Illinois, Washington, and Pennsylvania, which all rank among the states with the highest gas tax.
The states with the smallest gas tax include Alaska, which has the lowest at about nine cents per gallon, along with Hawaii, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Peter St Onge, senior economist at Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, said “a total of 19 states raised gasoline tax in the past year, and seven lowered.”
In response to the rising gas prices, Georgia has taken matters into its own hands. Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill temporarily suspending the state’s gas tax to provide relief to drivers.
Proud to sign two bills today to give quick and meaningful tax relief to hardworking Georgians.
We’re suspending the gas tax AND returning almost $1.2B to taxpayers, because Georgia families know best how to spend their money, not the government! https://t.co/Lf77W4Luww pic.twitter.com/AHuhfGsYx5
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 20, 2026
What’s Going on in California?
Adam Hoffer, director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, explained why California carries the highest gas-tax burden in the nation.
“California has one of the highest percentages of non-gas powered vehicles on the road, he told The Daily Signal, “So they need to try to get more and more money out of the vehicles that still are paying the gas tax.”
Because so many electric vehicles are on the road—and not paying fuel taxes that fund highway and road construction—California is left with a shrinking tax base. The result, Hoffer explained, is a higher burden on drivers who still rely on gas.
Hoffer also noted that California’s environmental mandates significantly increase fuel costs. “The California Energy Commission estimates that the state’s environmental programs add somewhere between 30 and 55 cents per gallon to gas prices.”
This includes the state’s cap-and-trade program and its low-carbon fuel standard, which together push up pump prices more than the entire gas tax burden in many other states.
Despite these policies, Gov. Gavin Newsom has attributed the high gas costs to President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
While some states have explored or enacted temporary gas-tax relief in response to rising prices, Newsom has instead pointed to global events as the cause of California’s high fuel costs.
He wrote on X that Trump’s “illegal war” has “cost the American people $1.5 BILLION in gas costs JUST THIS WEEK.”
What a joke.
Joe Lombardo is praising Donald Trump’s illegal war — that cost the American people $1.5 BILLION in gas costs JUST THIS WEEK.
Nevada — REMEMBER THIS.
Vote Lombardo out this November. https://t.co/YDgb9KJCgl
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 12, 2026
For drivers, the combined effect of California’s gas tax and environmental fees can add nearly a full dollar per gallon compared to other states. This burden lands on families, commuters, and businesses, making the current pain at the pump even more painful for those in the Golden State.
