Prices from the EIA Weekly On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price survey, refreshed weekly. EIA prices the US, its districts and California only, so state pages show a district figure. Confirm at the pump before fueling. Full disclaimer
DIESELCOST

EIA Weekly On-Highway Diesel Survey - Week of August 31, 2026

US AVERAGE DIESEL COST PER GALLON 2026

$5.60/GAL

Survey week of August 31, 2026, series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG. Prices are collected Monday morning and released the same afternoon ET.

Cheapest Region
$5.28
Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C)
Most Expensive
$6.50
West Coast (PADD 5)
vs Gasoline
+$1.53
spread

Truck-Stop Chains and Fleet-Card Discounts

Network scale and published fleet-card terms. There is no audited per-chain cash price to publish here: EIA surveys the retail market as a whole, not individual chains.

Pilot Flying J
8-12c/gal, Pro Card
published fleet-card discount
~750 locations
Largest network. I-80 / I-40 corridor. Pro Card loyalty program.
Details ->
Love's Travel Stops
8-10c/gal, Express Card
published fleet-card discount
~640 locations
Strong I-40 / I-30 corridor. Best grocery + quick-shop selection.
Details ->
TA Petro
Up to 40c/gal, Comdata
published fleet-card discount
~280 locations
Best fleet-card discount with Comdata. Full-service trucking amenities.
Details ->
Independent / Regional
Varies by chain
published fleet-card discount
Roady's, AmBest, Bosselman, others
Often cheapest cash price. Limited national fleet-card acceptance.
Details ->

We do not publish a current cash price per chain. EIA surveys the retail market as a whole rather than individual chains, so no audited chain figure exists, and an unverified estimate sitting next to the $5.60 survey average would read as though it came from the same place. Discounts and network counts above are from each chain's published terms. Check the chain app for a live local price. Full comparison ->

Diesel Prices by EIA District

Hover or click any state. EIA publishes a weekly on-highway diesel price for the US, its districts and California, and for no other state. Every tile except California shows the figure for that state's EIA district and is labelled with it. Full map + rankings ->

AL
$5.36
AK
$5.87
AZ
$5.87
AR
$5.36
CA
$7.22
CO
$5.55
CT
$5.74
DE
$5.84
FL
$5.28
GA
$5.28
HI
$5.87
ID
$5.55
IL
$5.57
IN
$5.57
IA
$5.57
KS
$5.57
KY
$5.57
LA
$5.36
ME
$5.74
MD
$5.84
MA
$5.74
MI
$5.57
MN
$5.57
MS
$5.36
MO
$5.57
MT
$5.55
NE
$5.57
NV
$5.87
NH
$5.74
NJ
$5.84
NM
$5.36
NY
$5.84
NC
$5.28
ND
$5.57
OH
$5.57
OK
$5.57
OR
$5.87
PA
$5.84
RI
$5.74
SC
$5.28
SD
$5.57
TN
$5.57
TX
$5.36
UT
$5.55
VT
$5.74
VA
$5.28
WA
$5.87
WV
$5.28
WI
$5.57
WY
$5.55
$5.28
$7.22

EIA Weekly On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price survey, week of August 31, 2026. Only California (outlined) has its own EIA diesel series. The other 49 tiles show the figure for the EIA district that state sits in, which is why neighbouring states carry identical prices. Hover a tile to see which district.

5 CHEAPEST EIA DISTRICTS
Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C)$5.276
Gulf Coast (PADD 3)$5.360
East Coast (PADD 1)$5.448
Rocky Mountain (PADD 4)$5.555
Midwest (PADD 2)$5.571
Full district table and state mapping ->
5 PRICIEST EIA DISTRICTS
West Coast (PADD 5)$6.497
West Coast less California$5.872
Central Atlantic (PADD 1B)$5.838
New England (PADD 1A)$5.736
Midwest (PADD 2)$5.571
Full district table and state mapping ->

Quick Trip Calculator

Total fuel cost$399.93
71.4 gallons$0.800/mile
Full Trip Calculator (multi-leg + share) ->
FLEET DRIVER?

Fleet cards save $0.10-$0.40/gal at major chains. At 5,000 gal/month, that's $500-$2,000/month in savings.

Compare Fleet Fuel Cards ->

Why Diesel Costs $5.60/Gal Right Now

Diesel runs $1.53/gal above regular gasoline (which averages $4.07) in August 2026. The spread is more than double the historical average. Three immediate factors:

  • 1.
    Distillate inventories below the 5-year average. US distillate stocks have been running 10-15% below the 5-year average since late 2023. Tight supply pushes the NY Harbor crack spread above $1.40/gal.
  • 2.
    ULSD refining costs more than gasoline. Ultra-low sulfur diesel requires hydrotreating - a process that uses hydrogen to remove sulfur compounds. This adds $0.20-$0.35/gal of refining cost versus regular gasoline production.
  • 3.
    Heating oil and diesel are chemically identical. Both are middle distillates from the same refinery cut. Spring 2026 heating demand in northern Europe ran longer than seasonal models projected, competing with US diesel exports.
Full 5-reason explainer with crack-spread chart ->

US Diesel Annual Averages

$3.29
2021
$4.99
2022
$4.21
2023
$3.76
2024
$3.66
2025
$4.86
2026

EIA published annual averages, series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG. The final bar is the current year to date, a mean of weekly observations rather than an EIA annual figure. Full history + EIA forecast ->

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current price of diesel per gallon in the US?+
In the EIA survey week of August 31, 2026, the US national average on-highway diesel price was $5.599 per gallon (series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG). That is the retail price at the pump including all federal and state taxes. The previous survey week read $5.652. Over the last nine published weeks the series ran: $4.578 on 2026-07-06, $4.796 on 2026-07-13, $5.134 on 2026-07-20, $5.313 on 2026-07-27, $5.348 on 2026-08-03, $5.257 on 2026-08-10, $5.454 on 2026-08-17, $5.652 on 2026-08-24, $5.599 on 2026-08-31.
Which state has the cheapest diesel fuel?+
The EIA weekly on-highway diesel survey does not answer that question, and this site will not pretend it does. EIA publishes a weekly diesel price for the United States, its five PADDs, three PADD 1 sub-districts, West Coast less California, and California. It publishes nothing for the other 49 states, so no federal state-by-state ranking exists. What the data does support is a district ranking: the cheapest EIA diesel district in the week of August 31, 2026 was Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) at $5.276 and the most expensive was West Coast (PADD 5) at $6.497. State diesel excise rates, which are set in statute and do vary state by state, run from 8 cents in Alaska to 102 cents in California.
Why is diesel more expensive than gasoline?+
In the week of August 31, 2026, diesel ran $1.528/gal above regular gasoline ($5.599 against $4.071, both US national figures from the same EIA survey). Four structural reasons: (1) ultra-low sulfur diesel refining requires hydrotreating to strip sulfur, which adds cost and reduces yield; (2) diesel and heating oil are the same middle distillate cut, so winter heating demand competes with truck fuel; (3) the federal diesel excise is 24.4 cents against 18.4 cents for gasoline; (4) freight demand is global and inelastic because trucks cannot switch fuels. See the full explainer at /diesel-vs-gas.
How much does it cost to fill a semi-truck with diesel?+
A Class 8 semi-truck carries 200 to 300 gallons, typically two saddle tanks of 100 to 150 gallons each. At the $5.599/gal US average, a 200-gallon fill costs $1120 and a 300-gallon fill $1680. A typical fueling stop of 100 to 150 gallons runs $560 to $840. Most owner-operators fuel strategically rather than running a tank down.
Are truck-stop diesel prices different from gas station prices?+
At cash/retail prices, major truck-stop chains (Pilot Flying J, Love's, TA Petro) are often within a few cents of regular gas stations. The real savings come with fleet cards: Comdata advertises up to 40 cents/gal at TA Petro and 10 cents at Pilot for fleets of 20 or fewer trucks, while WEX and EFS discounts are negotiated by contract and volume rather than published as a flat per-gallon rate. Without a fleet card, the price at a truck stop is typically similar to or slightly higher than a nearby gas station. Pilot Flying J's FuelFinder app shows live local prices.
How much fuel does a semi-truck use per mile?+
Class 8 trucks average 6 to 8 mpg loaded on flat highways, 4 to 6 mpg loaded on hilly terrain or under heavy loads, and 8 to 10 mpg empty. At 7 mpg and $5.599/gal, fuel cost per mile is 80 cents, or $400 for a 500-mile day. At 6 mpg loaded and hilly, the same day costs $467. Use the fleet calculator at /fleet-fuel-calculator for your own vehicle and route.
What is the best fleet fuel card for diesel discounts?+
For over-the-road truckers using multiple chains, Comdata typically offers the best discount - its advertised rates are up to 40 cents/gal at TA Petro, 10 cents at Pilot and 8 cents at Love's (for fleets of 20 or fewer trucks; larger fleets negotiate custom pricing). For owner-operators: EFS Fleet Card (WEX) discounts are negotiated by contract rather than published as a flat rate. For chain-loyal drivers: Pilot Pro Card at Pilot locations, Love's Express Card at Love's. For mixed fleets: WEX Fleet Card offers the most granular spending controls. See the full comparison at /fleet-fuel-cards.
How does the current week compare with the year so far?+
The mean of the 35 EIA weekly observations so far in 2026, through 2026-08-31, is $4.864 per gallon. The latest week reads $5.599, so the current price sits above the year-to-date mean by 0.735 per gallon. Within the last nine published weeks the series bottomed at $4.578 on 2026-07-06. EIA has not published an annual average for the current year, so this is a year-to-date mean of the weekly series and not an agency annual figure.

How We Got These Numbers

Every price figure: EIA Weekly On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price survey, week of August 31, 2026, read through the EIA Open Data API and checked against EIA's own published tables before publishing. Prices are collected Monday morning and released the same afternoon ET.

State-level prices: there is no EIA weekly diesel price for 49 of the 50 states on this site. California is the exception. Every other state carries the figure for the EIA district it sits in, labelled on the page with the district name and series id. We do not interpolate, weight or borrow from a commercial feed to manufacture a state number, which is why neighbouring states inside one district show the same price.

Truck-stop chain prices:indicative national retail estimates from each chain's published fuel-price tool (pilotflyingj.com, loves.com, ta-petro.com). These are not EIA figures and are not survey data. Confirm at the chain's app before fueling.

Reader questions: anything on this page can be queried at questions@dieselcostpergallon.com. A person reads them, answers name the survey table and week the figure came from, and where a question shows that this page left something out, the answer is added here.

Disclaimer: DieselCostPerGallon.com is an independent informational resource. We are not a fuel retailer, truck-stop operator, fleet card issuer, or affiliated with any energy company. Always confirm current pricing at the pump or via your fleet card portal before refueling.

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SOURCE
EIA Weekly On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price survey
WELCOME
how a figure is built, what moves it, where a state tax number comes from
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buying, hedging and fuel-tax decisions, which are yours or your accountant's
NOT LIVE
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