gasoline prices

gas prices sign

I admit. I don’t typically give a shit about gas prices or pay attention to what the price is. It kind of is what it is and I need to put gas in my car. All I know is that it is expensive <but not as expensive as other countries> and chews up gobs of my monthly budget.

Anyway. I came across this fantastically simple article and map explaining gas prices across the united states. And, well, I was enlightened.

I imagine I knew basically what makes up the price I pay, but certainly not the detail. I do know that gas companies make gobs of money. And I also know that if you ever want to pick an easy target when discussing gas prices you can choose pretty much any gas company out there.

But. Some of the detail behind the prices we see at the gas stations is interesting.

In the United States <I do not know what it is in other countries> we pay a flat federal gas tax on every gallon of gas our cars suck in.

18.4 cents for every gallon.

Next.

A gas company maybe makes a 1.5% profit margin on each gallon of gas sold <I believe that is the net gallon calculation so it is a fairly small number, just lots of gallons sold>. As comparison, this is very close to the margins a grocery store receives.

Lets say it is maybe 5 cents or so per gallon.gas prices national

Next.

This means all state and even county gas price variations are driven by state and local taxes.

And.

States and local government actually make more than the gas company.

Lots more.

The highest gasoline tax in the country is in California, where it now exceeds 70 cents a gallon. Combined with California-specific fuel-blending regulations that drive up refining costs, these taxes help make Golden State gasoline prices the most expensive in the country.

Several other states, such as New York, Connecticut, and Hawaii, are close to California in terms of the fuel-tax burden their residents bear, though none has yet joined in crossing the 70-cent-per-gallon threshold.

<if you would like to see the API’s map state and local level specifics here is its interactive version >.

<this post was pulled from the original article – A gasoline tax map that explains a lot: February 7, 2014 by Ken Cohen>

I just thought this was interesting. Ponder.

Written by Bruce