Fuel is the single biggest variable cost in trucking. This page shows the average diesel price in every U.S. state and the fuel cost per mile it works out to for a typical truck — ranked, and recalculated live for your own MPG.
| # | State | Avg diesel $/gal | Fuel cost / mile | vs U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $5.29 | $0.814 | +$1.66 |
| 2 | California | $5.04 | $0.775 | +$1.41 |
| 3 | Washington | $4.47 | $0.688 | +$0.84 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $4.06 | $0.625 | +$0.43 |
| 5 | New York | $3.94 | $0.606 | +$0.31 |
| 6 | Maine | $3.93 | $0.605 | +$0.30 |
| 7 | Oregon | $3.91 | $0.602 | +$0.28 |
| 8 | Nevada | $3.84 | $0.591 | +$0.21 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $3.83 | $0.589 | +$0.20 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $3.83 | $0.589 | +$0.20 |
| 11 | Vermont | $3.82 | $0.588 | +$0.19 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | $3.81 | $0.586 | +$0.18 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $3.79 | $0.583 | +$0.16 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $3.79 | $0.583 | +$0.16 |
| 15 | Maryland | $3.74 | $0.575 | +$0.11 |
| 16 | Delaware | $3.68 | $0.566 | +$0.05 |
| 17 | New Jersey | $3.66 | $0.563 | +$0.03 |
| 18 | Indiana | $3.66 | $0.563 | +$0.03 |
| 19 | Florida | $3.65 | $0.562 | +$0.02 |
| 20 | Illinois | $3.60 | $0.554 | −$0.03 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $3.60 | $0.554 | −$0.03 |
| 22 | Virginia | $3.59 | $0.552 | −$0.04 |
| 23 | Alaska | $3.59 | $0.552 | −$0.04 |
| 24 | Arizona | $3.58 | $0.551 | −$0.05 |
| 25 | Idaho | $3.57 | $0.549 | −$0.06 |
| 26 | Georgia | $3.57 | $0.549 | −$0.06 |
| 27 | Michigan | $3.55 | $0.546 | −$0.08 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $3.52 | $0.542 | −$0.11 |
| 29 | Ohio | $3.52 | $0.542 | −$0.11 |
| 30 | Utah | $3.48 | $0.535 | −$0.15 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $3.46 | $0.532 | −$0.17 |
| 32 | Minnesota | $3.46 | $0.532 | −$0.17 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $3.45 | $0.531 | −$0.18 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $3.45 | $0.531 | −$0.18 |
| 35 | Montana | $3.44 | $0.529 | −$0.19 |
| 36 | Iowa | $3.42 | $0.526 | −$0.21 |
| 37 | Colorado | $3.42 | $0.526 | −$0.21 |
| 38 | Alabama | $3.40 | $0.523 | −$0.23 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $3.39 | $0.522 | −$0.24 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $3.38 | $0.520 | −$0.25 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | $3.36 | $0.517 | −$0.27 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $3.36 | $0.517 | −$0.27 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $3.33 | $0.512 | −$0.30 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $3.29 | $0.506 | −$0.34 |
| 45 | Kansas | $3.29 | $0.506 | −$0.34 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $3.28 | $0.505 | −$0.35 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $3.25 | $0.500 | −$0.38 |
| 48 | Missouri | $3.25 | $0.500 | −$0.38 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $3.24 | $0.498 | −$0.39 |
| 50 | Texas | $3.21 | $0.494 | −$0.42 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $3.17 | $0.488 | −$0.46 |
Fuel cost per mile = diesel price ÷ your miles per gallon. At 6.5 mpg, a $0.30/gal swing between states is worth about $0.046/mile — on 100,000 miles a year that's $4,615. Where you fuel matters, but so does your truck: a reefer or a heavy flatbed load drops your MPG and pushes every number here up. Plug your real MPG above, then run a full all-in number (fuel + fixed + maintenance + your pay) in the cost-per-mile calculator.
As of this data, the priciest diesel is in Hawaii ($5.29), California ($5.04), and Washington ($4.47); the cheapest are Oklahoma ($3.17), Texas ($3.21), and Mississippi ($3.24). That's a 2.12/gal spread — roughly $0.326/mile at 6.5 mpg between the most and least expensive states to fuel in.
In this dataset, Oklahoma has the lowest average diesel at $3.17/gal, followed by Texas and Mississippi. Fueling in low-price states along your route is one of the simplest ways to cut cost per mile.
Divide the pump price by your MPG. At 6.5 mpg, $4.00 diesel = $0.615/mile in fuel alone; $3.20 diesel = $0.492/mile. Use the calculator above to see it for your truck.
Yes — IFTA reconciles fuel tax by the miles you run in each jurisdiction, not just where you buy. Buying cheaper fuel still lowers your out-of-pocket cost, but your tax is settled by mileage per state.
State diesel averages compiled from AAA fuel-price data (via World Population Review). Fuel cost per mile is computed as price ÷ MPG (default 6.5 mpg, a common loaded Class-8 figure). Diesel prices change daily and the relative gaps between states stay fairly stable; for the live national average, the U.S. EIA updates weekly. Sources: AAA State Gas Price Averages, U.S. EIA Gasoline & Diesel Update. Last updated June 2026.
Built by TruckMargin — free cost-per-mile and load-profit tools for owner-operators.