Why Is Diesel More Expensive Than Gasoline? 4 Reasons, With EIA Data
EIA survey week of October 26, 2026
Source: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, US national averages, series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG and EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG.
Diesel ran $2.08 a gallon above regular gasoline in the week of October 26, 2026. So far in 2026 the gap has averaged $1.24, the widest annual average in EIA's retail series back to 1995 (the previous widest was $1.04 in 2022), and it peaked at $2.05 in the week of September 21, 2026. Crude oil costs about the same per gallon in both fuels; the difference is refining, distribution, winter heating-oil demand and tax.
Where a gallon's money goes: diesel vs gasoline, May 2026
| Part of the price | Diesel $5.60 | Gasoline $4.48 |
|---|---|---|
| Crude oil | 42% ~235c | 52% ~233c |
| Refining | 25% ~140c | 22% ~99c |
| Distribution and marketing | 23% ~129c | 15% ~67c |
| Taxes | 11% ~62c | 12% ~54c |
Shares and retail prices: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, "What we pay for in a gallon of", May 2026 (EIA rounds to whole percent). The cents are our arithmetic, share times retail price, so they are approximate. Over 2004 to 2025 EIA puts crude oil at about 51% of the monthly average US retail diesel price.
Refining and distribution take a bigger share of a diesel gallon
EIA splits the retail price into crude oil, refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes. In May 2026 diesel averaged $5.60 and regular gasoline $4.48. Crude oil came to about $2.35 of the diesel gallon and $2.33 of the gasoline gallon: nearly the same. The gap sat in refining (25% of diesel against 22% of gasoline) and in distribution and marketing (23% against 15%). The refining margin has widened since: NY Harbor ultra-low sulfur diesel traded $2.24 a gallon above Brent crude in September 2026, against $0.75 averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Sources: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, "What we pay for in a gallon of", May 2026; EIA spot prices, series EER_EPD2DXL0_PF4_Y35NY_DPG and RBRTE (crack spread is our arithmetic: ULSD minus Brent per barrel divided by 42).
Heating oil and diesel are practically the same fuel
EIA notes that because heating oil and diesel are practically the same fuels, demand for one affects the price of the other. During the fall and winter, heating oil demand puts pressure on the diesel market, since the two are produced at the same time. International demand matters too: in many countries diesel cars are more common than in the US, and distillate fuel generates a larger share of electricity.
Source: EIA, Diesel fuel explained: factors affecting diesel prices.
Diesel is taxed more
The federal excise is 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel and 18.4 cents on gasoline. Some states widen the gap. Pennsylvania charges 74.1 cents on undyed diesel against 57.6 cents on gasoline in 2026. Illinois charges 55.8 cents against 48.3 cents from 1 July to 31 December 2026, plus sales tax on top, which adds more on diesel because the pump price is higher. California charges 48.2 cents a gallon diesel excise from 1 July 2026 plus a 13% state diesel sales tax. Every state's diesel tax, with its components and source, is on its state page.
Sources: 26 U.S.C. 4081; Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Motor Fuel Tax Rates (2026); Illinois Department of Revenue bulletin FY 2026-23 (reissued 16 June 2026); CDTFA L-1025 (June 2026). Checked 27 October 2026.
Ultra-low sulfur diesel costs a little more to make
EPA's highway diesel rule cut the sulfur limit from 500 ppm to 15 ppm, a 97 percent reduction, with refiners starting production in June 2006. EPA put the cost of the cleaner fuel at 4 to 5 cents a gallon to produce and distribute. That is a real but small part of today's gap; the much larger refining margin above is what moves from year to year.
Source: EPA fact sheet EPA420-F-06-037 (June 2006), Introduction of Cleaner-burning Diesel Fuel.
Diesel vs gasoline price by year, 1995 to 2026
From 1995 to 2004 the two fuels were within 5 cents a gallon of each other every year, and diesel was the cheaper one, by fractions of a cent to 5 cents, in 7 of those ten years. Diesel has averaged more than gasoline every year since 2005. Since 2010 the only weeks diesel was cheaper were seven in July and August 2015.
| Year | Diesel | Gasoline | Diesel minus gas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | $5.10 | $3.86 | +$1.24 |
| 2025 | $3.66 | $3.10 | +$0.56 |
| 2024 | $3.76 | $3.30 | +$0.46 |
| 2023 | $4.21 | $3.52 | +$0.69 |
| 2022 | $4.99 | $3.95 | +$1.04 |
| 2021 | $3.29 | $3.01 | +$0.28 |
| 2020 | $2.55 | $2.17 | +$0.38 |
| 2019 | $3.06 | $2.60 | +$0.45 |
| 2018 | $3.18 | $2.72 | +$0.46 |
| 2017 | $2.65 | $2.42 | +$0.23 |
| 2016 | $2.30 | $2.14 | +$0.16 |
| 2015 | $2.71 | $2.43 | +$0.28 |
| 2014 | $3.83 | $3.36 | +$0.47 |
| 2013 | $3.92 | $3.50 | +$0.42 |
| 2012 | $3.97 | $3.62 | +$0.35 |
| 2011 | $3.84 | $3.52 | +$0.32 |
| 2010 | $2.99 | $2.78 | +$0.21 |
| 2009 | $2.47 | $2.35 | +$0.11 |
| 2008 | $3.80 | $3.25 | +$0.56 |
| 2007 | $2.88 | $2.80 | +$0.09 |
| 2006 | $2.71 | $2.57 | +$0.13 |
| 2005 | $2.40 | $2.27 | +$0.13 |
| 2004 | $1.81 | $1.85 | -$0.04 |
| 2003 | $1.51 | $1.56 | -$0.05 |
| 2002 | $1.32 | $1.34 | -$0.03 |
| 2001 | $1.40 | $1.42 | -$0.02 |
| 2000 | $1.49 | $1.48 | +$0.01 |
| 1999 | $1.12 | $1.14 | -$0.01 |
| 1998 | $1.04 | $1.03 | +$0.01 |
| 1997 | $1.20 | $1.20 | $0.00 |
| 1996 | $1.24 | $1.20 | +$0.04 |
| 1995 | $1.11 | $1.11 | $0.00 |
Annual US retail averages, EIA Open Data API (petroleum/pri/gnd), series EMD_EPD2D_PTE_NUS_DPG (on-highway diesel) and EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG (regular gasoline). *2026 is the average of 42 weekly readings through the week of October 19, 2026. More history on the diesel price history page.
What readers actually paid at the pump
Prices readers report from the pump: what they paid, where, and how they paid. Each one is a single fill on the date shown, not a survey average; the weekly EIA figures elsewhere on this page are the survey. The middle of the prices reported here is $6.42.
- $6.98at a gas station in Washington (ZIP 981xx), credit or debit card26 Oct
- $6.30at a gas station in Colorado (ZIP 809xx), credit or debit card26 Oct
- $6.55at a gas station in Colorado (ZIP 811xx), credit or debit card25 Oct
- $6.24at a gas station in Ohio (ZIP 436xx), credit or debit card21 Oct
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FAQ: Diesel vs Gas Price
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How we built this page: retail prices are EIA's weekly and annual US averages, pulled from the EIA Open Data API; the price breakdown is EIA's published May 2026 split; the crack spread is our arithmetic on EIA's monthly NY Harbor ULSD and Brent spot prices; the ULSD cost is EPA's (EPA420-F-06-037 (June 2006)); tax rates are from the statutes and state revenue departments named above, checked 27 October 2026. Weekly prices update every Monday; this page shows the survey week of October 26, 2026.