Kentucky Gas Prices This Week
Regular gasoline in Kentucky is an estimated $4.12 a gallon for the week of October 5, 2026, 23.1¢ below the U.S. average of $4.35.
Week of October 5, 2026 · US Gas Gauge estimate from EIA regional prices
23.1¢ below
The U.S. average is $4.35.
Kentucky is the 21st-cheapest place to buy regular gas of the 50 states and D.C. — equivalently, the 31st-most-expensive.
This week’s prices; with estimates, a gap under 9.8¢ may not hold.
Kentucky gas prices over time
Annual averages, approximate before 2000; the last point is this week’s estimate.
View the data (56 points · annual)
| Date | Nominal | 2025 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 * | $0.37 | $3.04 |
| 1971 * | $0.38 | $2.99 |
| 1972 * | $0.37 | $2.87 |
| 1973 * | $0.40 | $2.92 |
| 1974 * | $0.55 | $3.61 |
| 1975 * | $0.59 | $3.51 |
| 1976 * | $0.61 | $3.43 |
| 1977 * | $0.64 | $3.41 |
| 1978 * | $0.65 | $3.21 |
| 1979 * | $0.88 | $3.89 |
| 1980 * | $1.21 | $4.72 |
| 1981 * | $1.34 | $4.76 |
| 1982 * | $1.29 | $4.30 |
| 1983 * | $1.12 | $3.63 |
| 1984 * | $1.09 | $3.38 |
| 1985 * | $1.10 | $3.30 |
| 1986 * | $0.84 | $2.46 |
| 1987 * | $0.92 | $2.61 |
| 1988 * | $0.93 | $2.53 |
| 1989 * | $1.01 | $2.63 |
| 1990 * | $1.16 | $2.85 |
| 1991 * | $1.12 | $2.65 |
| 1992 * | $1.08 | $2.48 |
| 1993 * | $1.06 | $2.37 |
| 1994 * | $1.09 | $2.37 |
| 1995 * | $1.14 | $2.40 |
| 1996 * | $1.23 | $2.52 |
| 1997 * | $1.21 | $2.42 |
| 1998 * | $1.05 | $2.08 |
| 1999 * | $1.16 | $2.24 |
| 2000 | $1.44 | $2.70 |
| 2001 | $1.36 | $2.47 |
| 2002 | $1.30 | $2.33 |
| 2003 | $1.47 | $2.57 |
| 2004 | $1.77 | $3.01 |
| 2005 | $2.19 | $3.61 |
| 2006 | $2.47 | $3.95 |
| 2007 | $2.73 | $4.23 |
| 2008 | $3.16 | $4.73 |
| 2009 | $2.30 | $3.45 |
| 2010 | $2.72 | $4.02 |
| 2011 | $3.46 | $4.95 |
| 2012 | $3.53 | $4.95 |
| 2013 | $3.44 | $4.76 |
| 2014 | $3.29 | $4.48 |
| 2015 | $2.36 | $3.21 |
| 2016 | $2.10 | $2.82 |
| 2017 | $2.35 | $3.09 |
| 2018 | $2.61 | $3.35 |
| 2019 | $2.49 | $3.13 |
| 2020 | $2.04 | $2.54 |
| 2021 | $2.88 | $3.43 |
| 2022 | $3.80 | $4.18 |
| 2023 | $3.36 | $3.56 |
| 2024 | $3.17 | $3.26 |
| 2026 * | $4.12 | $3.98 |
What sets Kentucky gas prices
In the EIA’s July 2026 (revised August 2026) table of motor fuel taxes, Kentucky’s state taxes and fees on gasoline total 26.4¢ a gallon, the 18th-lowest of the 50 states and D.C. The 51-jurisdiction average is 33.8¢, and the federal tax adds 18.4¢ everywhere. Kentucky’s rate is tied to the average wholesale price of gasoline and recalculated each July, with a floor adopted in 2015 that has kept it near 26¢ a gallon. In 2022 the state froze the rate instead of letting it rise, and in May 2026 an executive order cut it by 10¢ a gallon through June 30, 2026.
The state has one refinery, Marathon’s plant at Catlettsburg in the northeast corner, with 307,000 barrels a day of capacity in the EIA’s January 2026 count. Kentucky is in the EIA’s Midwest region (PADD 2).
Fuel rules in the two largest metro areas have changed recently. The three Northern Kentucky counties near Cincinnati left the federal reformulated gasoline program in July 2018, and the Kentucky portion of the Louisville area (Jefferson County and parts of Bullitt and Oldham counties) left it on May 27, 2026. Both areas previously required the more expensive cleaner-burning blend.
In the EIA’s annual data, Kentucky has stayed near the middle of the national ranking: between 10th and 24th cheapest in every year since 2000, and 22nd in 2024. Its average gap to the U.S. average was 3.3¢ below in the 2000s and 11.0¢ below in 2020–2024. Kentucky’s record annual average is $3.80 in 2022. Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive year was 2011 (2012 was within a cent), at $4.95 in 2025 dollars.
In the Midwest region’s weekly data for 2004–2025, prices swing more across the year than nationally: 9.8% below the year’s mean in January and 7.5% above in June.
Since 2011 the EIA’s annual figures for this state follow its region’s changes.
Sources: state price figures are EIA State Energy Data System annual averages and regional figures are EIA weekly retail data, from our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
- U.S. EIA, Federal and State Motor Fuels Taxes (Petroleum Marketing Monthly)
- Tax Foundation, Kentucky's gas tax and road funding
- Kentucky League of Cities, Governor Beshear executive order on gas prices (2026)
- U.S. EIA, Refinery Capacity Report, Table 3: capacity of operable petroleum refineries by state (January 1, 2026)
- U.S. EPA, Reformulated Gasoline: covered areas
- U.S. EPA, removal of the federal RFG program from the Kentucky portion of the Louisville area
Kentucky Beside Its Seven Neighbors
Kentucky's 2024 average of $3.17 was 0.2¢ below Illinois ($3.18) and 7.3¢ below Ohio ($3.25). West Virginia, at $3.33, had the highest 2024 average among the bordering states, and Kentucky was 15.9¢ below it. Kentucky was 10.5¢ above Indiana ($3.07) and 14.4¢ above Missouri ($3.03), the bordering state with the lowest 2024 average. It was also 9.4¢ above Tennessee ($3.08) and 8.8¢ above Virginia ($3.09). That makes 4 of 7 bordering states with a lower 2024 average than Kentucky's.
Kentucky's 2024 average was 11.2¢ below the U.S. average of $3.29. Kentucky's 2024 figure of $3.17 becomes $3.26 when stated in 2025 dollars. The EIA table dated July 2026 puts the average state tax and fee total across the 50 states and D.C. at 33.8¢, and Kentucky's 26.4¢ is 7.4¢ below that average.
Kentucky's cheapest rank was 8th-cheapest in 1984, and its least favourable was 44th-cheapest (8th-most-expensive) in 1973. The 1970 average of $0.37 ranked 36th-cheapest, and 1980's $1.21 ranked 10th-cheapest. Kentucky stood 22nd-cheapest at $1.16 in 1990 and 14th-cheapest at $1.44 in 2000. Its 2010 price of $2.72 placed it 21st-cheapest; in 2020, at $2.04, it was 18th-cheapest. Kentucky sat below the U.S. average in 38 of 55 years from 1970 to 2024 and above it in 15 of 55.
Current average
EIA publishes no weekly grade or diesel prices for Kentucky; the price above is regular.
Highest and lowest annual averages
This week’s estimate is above every annual average: a yearly average smooths out peak weeks.
Kentucky vs. the nation and its neighbors
Annual averages, all grades, 2024 (EIA SEDS).
Kentucky gas prices, answered
- What is the average price of gas in Kentucky right now?
- $4.12 a gallon for regular (estimated), week of October 5, 2026.
- Is gas more expensive in Kentucky than the national average?
- No: 23.1¢ below the U.S. average of $4.35, on this week's estimate.
- What is the highest gas price ever recorded in Kentucky?
- The highest annual average was $3.80 (2022).
- Are gas prices in Kentucky going up or down?
- Down last week, to an estimated $4.12; 21st-cheapest of 50 states and D.C. (rank based on estimates)
Related to Kentucky gas prices
More Kentucky data
- Kentucky gas tax — state and federal rates per gallon
- All states, every year since 1970
- U.S. gas prices in 2025 — latest full year, national average
- U.S. gas prices in 2022 — highest U.S. annual average at the pump
- U.S. gas price history since 1970
Use this data
Download: Current gas prices by state (CSV) · Gas prices by state, annual 1970–present (CSV).
Column definitions, coverage and every file: gas price data. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit.
Cite as: US Gas Gauge, “Kentucky Gas Prices,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/kentucky. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.