Here’s How Much the Average American Spends on Gas in a Lifetime in Every State

The price of gasoline in the U.S. is shaped by a variety of factors, including the cost of crude oil, distribution and marketing costs, profits and taxes. These are big picture issues that are well beyond the control of consumers, and can make you feel totally in the dark. But regardless of what goes into the price of fueling up our cars, we can all relate to the fact that gas can be really expensive. 

Some states are hit harder by the cost of gasoline than others. Pricing varies in part because of state and local taxes, distance from supply, supply disruptions, retail competition and operating costs. according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

With this in mind, GOBankingRates conducted new research to determine how much the average person in every state spends on gasoline over the course of a lifetime.

To pinpoint amounts, we first set as a constant that a person would be driving from ages 16 to 77 on average. We also set the constant of the car having a 13.5-gallon tank and getting 24.4 miles per gallon, which would equate to 329.4 miles per full tank of gas. These constants were sourced from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Next, we found the average yearly miles driven by state as sourced from the Federal Highway Administration and took these yearly miles traveled and extrapolated it out to a lifetime (61 years) of miles driven and divided this figure by the 329.4 full tank figure to calculate how many lifetime fill ups one would need.

From there, we found the 2024 price for a gallon of gas from each state as sourced from AAA, which was multiplied by the 13.5-gallon tank constant. We were then able to calculate how much a full tank of gas costs per fill up, which was then multiplied by the lifetime fill-ups one would need to give a figure of total spent on gas in a lifetime.

Here’s how much the average American spends on gas in a lifetime in every state — with states listed from most to least expensive. Sorry Wyomingites, but you top the list!

• The cost gas in a lifetime: $201,698.22
• The average annual cost of gas: $3,306.53
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 4,457

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $167,226.71
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,741.42
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,319

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $158,450.88
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,597.56
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,596

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $158,176.59
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,593.06
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,395

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $156,656.37
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,568.14
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,548

• The cost of gas costs in a lifetime: $155,907.60
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,555.86
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,338

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $155,085.91
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,542.39
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,697

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $151,548.08
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,484.39
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,430

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $149,069.97
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,443.77
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,873

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $148,593.18
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,435.95
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,125

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $148,392.22
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,432.66
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,272

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $145,787.60
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,389.96
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,299

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $145,734.49
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,389.09
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,316

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $140,635.86
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,305.51
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,164

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $140,498.30
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,303.25
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,941

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $140,397.32
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,301.60
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,278

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $139,664.69
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,289.59
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,670

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $136,200.16
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,232.79
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,263

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $136,069.60
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,230.65
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,190

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $134,731.92
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,208.72
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,976

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $134,516.25
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,205.18
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 3,019

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $131,963.52
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,163.34
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,995

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $131,259.98
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,151.80
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,424

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $129,884.83
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,129.26
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,696

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $129,611.94
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,124.79
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,878

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $129,143.28
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,117.10
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,632

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $128,863.49
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,112.52
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,860

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $127,904.58
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,096.80
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,649

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $128,863.49
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,095.57
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,028

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $126,155.97
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,068.13
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,831

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $125,466.58
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,056.83
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,687

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $123,264.88
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,020.74
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,498

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $123,101.71
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,018.06
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,747

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $122,740.32
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,012.14
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,767

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $122,318.77
• The average annual cost of gas: $2,005.23
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,330

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $121,721.01
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,995.43
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,058

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $120,872.14
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,981.51
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,731

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $119,981.78
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,966.91
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,769

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $119,257.00
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,955.03
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,644

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $118,694.01
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,945.80
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,408

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $118,144.86
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,936.80
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,428

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $118,137.14
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,936.67
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,737

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $113,536.29
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,861.25
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,244

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $112,850.55
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,850.01
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,335

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $110,734.89
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,815.33
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,271

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $108,670.28
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,781.48
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,119

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $104,127.18
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,707.00
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,389

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $103,204.40
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,691.88
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 2,143

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $94,832.69
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,554.63
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 1,883

• The cost of gas in a lifetime: $90,495.69
• The average annual cost of gas: $1,483.54
• The total average lifetime fill ups: 1,845

Methodology. For this piece GOBankingRates first set as a constant that a person would be driving from 16 to 77, as the US lifespan is 76.33 as of 2021. GOBankingRates also set the constant of the car having a 13.5-gallon tank and getting 24.4 miles per gallon, which would equate to 329.4 miles per full tank of gas. These constants were sourced from the US Department of Energy. With these constants set, GOBankingRates then found the average yearly miles driven by state as sourced from the Federal Highway Administration. GOBankingRates was able to take these yearly miles traveled and extrapolate it out to a lifetime (61 years) of miles driven and to divide this figure by the 329.4 full tank figure to calculate how many lifetime fill ups one would need. Once GOBankingRates had this figure GOBankingRates found the 2024 price for a gallon of gas from each state as sourced from AAA, which GOBankingRates multiplied by the 13.5 tank of gallon constant GOBankingRates was able to calculate how much a full tank of gas cost per fill up, which was then multiplied by the lifetime fill ups one would need to give a figure of total spent on gas in a lifetime. These figures are approximations of what one could spend in a lifetime on gas, but GOBankingRates is aware that changing energy consumption habits in the future could change these figures. All data was collected and is up to date as of May 7, 2024.