Gas Prices in Washington Today

In the EIA’s July 2026 (revised August 2026) table of motor fuel taxes, Washington’s state taxes and fees on gasoline total 60.2¢ a gallon, the 4th-highest of the 50 states and D.C. The 51-jurisdiction average is 33.8¢, and the federal tax adds 18.4¢ everywhere. The excise tax rose by 6¢ on July 1, 2025, and a 2 percent annual increase began in July 2026. The state figure also includes a hazardous substance tax and a petroleum products tax.

Two state climate programs began on January 1, 2023, and are not part of the tax figure: the Climate Commitment Act’s cap-and-invest program, under which fuel suppliers must buy emissions allowances, and the Clean Fuel Standard, which requires the carbon intensity of transportation fuel to decline over time. Washington’s yearly premium over the U.S. average rose from 63¢ in 2022 to 94¢ in 2023.

Washington has five refineries, all in the Puget Sound area: two at Ferndale (BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66), two at Anacortes (Marathon and HF Sinclair), and one in Tacoma (Par Pacific). The Olympic Pipeline carries fuel from the northern refineries south through Seattle to Portland, Oregon, and Puget Sound refineries also ship gasoline by tanker to California. When California refineries have problems, Washington prices often rise with California’s, as they did in October 2022.

Washington uses conventional gasoline; the EIA reports no reformulated series for the state. Its winter low is deep: averaged over 2004–2025, January and February are 11.1% and 10.1% below the annual average, second only to Colorado among the nine weekly states. The June peak is 6.7% above average, and prices remain more than 5% above average through September.

Washington averaged below the U.S. average in 4 of 55 years from 1970 to 2024 and above it in 50 of 55. The years below were 1974–1976, 1983. In 1974 the state averaged 0.4¢ below the U.S. figure. The gap above the U.S. reached 95.1¢ in 2023. In 2024 the state averaged $4.07 against $3.29 for the U.S., 78.0¢ above.

Washington's rank among the 50 states and D.C., counted from the cheapest, was 32nd-cheapest in 1970 and 27th-cheapest in 1980. Its cheapest ranking in any year was 18th-cheapest in 1989. It stood at 46th-cheapest in 2000, 49th-cheapest in 2010 and 46th-cheapest in 2020. The least favourable ranking was 50th-cheapest (2nd-most-expensive) in 2005–2007. In 2024 the state ranked 48th-cheapest, or 4th-most-expensive.

Both bordering states averaged less than Washington in 2024. Idaho was at $3.35, so Washington averaged 72.1¢ above Idaho. Oregon was at $4.06, and Washington averaged 0.8¢ above Oregon.

In constant 2025 dollars, the 2024 average was $4.18. The highest real annual average was $5.32 in 2012, and the lowest was $2.20 in 1998. The highest nominal average was $4.55 in 2022. From 2014 to 2024 the average at the pump rose 15.5%, while the constant-dollar figure fell 12.9%.