California gas prices are approaching an all-time high, putting more pressure on drivers’ budgets even as the state takes steps intended to provide relief.
The statewide average for regular unleaded reached $6.40 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA — about 4 cents shy of the record set in June 2022 and the highest state average in the nation. The national average was $4.41, nearly $2 less.
“It’s nothing but a financial burden, man,” 31-year-old Saleh Abdullah said as he pumped gas Wednesday at the Costco station, where regular unleaded was $5.89 a gallon.
Diesel fuel averaged $8.38 a gallon in California on Thursday, about 5 cents shy of its record and 1 cent less than Wednesday. The national diesel average was about $6.40.
Global conflicts, California’s fuel requirements and constraints on refinery production have combined to push prices higher, said Severin Borenstein, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
The wars in Iran and Ukraine have disrupted oil supplies, while reductions in California’s refining capacity have added to the state’s supply pressures, Borenstein said. Taxes and environmental requirements also contribute to California’s higher prices.
Another major factor is the wholesale spot price — the price of gasoline available for immediate delivery, Borenstein said.
“California has a different blend of gas and its own supply issues that make the California wholesale spot price way more volatile that the rest of the country,” Borenstein said. “It’s usually 20 to 30 cents higher than the rest of the country. Right now, it’s $1 more.”
For drivers, those increases are adding up.
“Most of the money I make is going to gas right now,” 20-year-old Daniel Benitez said as he put $40 worth of gas into his truck Wednesday at a Chevron station in San Jose. Regular unleaded gas was $6.79 a gallon.
“I’ve got to fill up everyday,” he said. “Depending on the car I use, I’m using anywhere from like 50 to 70 bucks a day. I can’t drive my nice cars no more, because there’s too much gas (usage), and I have somewhat of a heavy foot. … Honestly, it’s hard, but what can I do?”
Gasoline demand typically eases after the summer travel season, potentially giving drivers some relief. Doug Johnson, a spokesperson for AAA, said travel over the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays set records this year.
“Typically, this is when we see prices drop because demand drops,” Johnson said. “People won’t be taking trips until Thanksgiving. So usually, in that situation, you see some relief.”
But fall also brings refinery maintenance, which can constrain supplies, Borenstein said.
“Fall is always a difficult period. Lots of refineries get through the summer producing a lot of gas for the high summer demand. Then they do maintenance,” he said. “If too many of them do their maintenance at the same time and we don’t have a backfill of imports, we have a shortfall.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has instructed state officials to allow a switch to lower-priced winter-blend gasoline a month earlier than normal. Winter-blend gas is typically about 10 to 30 cents a gallon cheaper than the summer blend, Johnson said.
That change could ease prices, but it does not guarantee they will fall.
“It’s already happened in Nevada and Arizona, “Johnson said. “Prices still went up there. They just didn’t go up as much as with the summer blend.”
Borenstein said the earlier switch could help increase supplies.
“It’s slightly more polluting if it’s hot, so we generally don’t use it in the summer,” he said. “It evaporates more. But according to the petroleum industry people, it will increase the supply use, because it blends different components.”
California’s average price for regular unleaded was $6.20 a gallon a week ago, $5.68 a month ago and $4.64 a year ago.
“For regular Chevron gas, it would cost me anywhere from $230 to $240 for a full tank of gas, because I have a 33-gallon fuel tank on this truck,” Fabian Lopez, 25, of San Jose, said as he pumped ethanol. “It definitely is alarming, considering that groceries can cost on average anywhere from $400 to $430 (per trip) for a family of three or four. … It’s not a lot of money that people have.”
Fabian Lopez, of San Jose, gets gas Chevron on the corner of East Younger Avenue and North First Street in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
The costs also weigh on those delivering fuel.
“I am delivering 8,600 gallons of fuel,” Francisco Rios said while sitting behind the wheel of a tanker truck at a Shell station in Concord, where regular unleaded was $6.59 a gallon and diesel was $8.99. “This truck takes 50 gallons a day to drive. Get the calculator out.”
Tank truck driver Francisco Rios, of Sacramento, gets ready to leave after delivering 8,600 gallons of gas to a Shell station on Olivera Road near Port Chicago Highway in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Abdullah, a shop owner in Concord, said he uses his 2002 Jeep Wrangler TJ instead of his diesel truck.
“I have three kids, and first I take them to school. Then I sometimes take my wife to work. I have more than one stop,” he said. “I’ve got a new diesel truck in my driveway at home that I never use. It’s out of control.”
The price of gas a person got for almost six gallons at Chevron on the corner of East Younger Avenue and North First Street in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)