Texas gas – AAA data shows Texans are paying $4.092 a gallon for regular gas as of Thursday, May 21—below the $4.564 national average—while some nearby states report much higher prices.
By Thursday, May 21, the difference at the pump in Texas was hard to miss: a gallon of regular gas cost $4.092, according to AAA—comfortably below the national average of $4.564.
That gap matters in a country where prices have been edging up amid the war in Iran. For drivers in parts of Texas, the relief is coming at the same moment neighbors are paying more. AAA puts Arizona at $4.817, Nevada at $5.273, and California at $6.143. New Mexico is also higher, averaging $4.501 per gallon.
In the same AAA snapshot, some of the lowest prices are clustered in states that share a similar affordability story: Mississippi at $4.017, Louisiana at $4.057, and Oklahoma at $4.098. Texas sits among them rather than on the costly end.
The price numbers land alongside politics overseas. where President Trump praised the indictment of Raúl Castro. the former president of Cuba. while saying he doesn’t plan to escalate tensions. In the U.S. market. that type of uncertainty—whether about Cuba or the war in Iran—can quickly feed investor nerves and. eventually. energy prices.
Why Texas stands out at the pump
Texas isn’t just any gas state. It is the top crude oil and natural gas-producing state in the nation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2024, Texas accounted for 43% of the nation’s crude oil production.
The state also has a major refining advantage. Texas has the most petroleum refineries and the most refining capacity in the country. Its 35 refineries can process about 6.3 million barrels of crude oil per calendar day—roughly one-third of the nation’s total refining capacity, according to the EIA.
Those supply and processing strengths can help explain why Texas isn’t being pulled upward as sharply as other markets.
Why prices can be higher elsewhere
Gasoline prices vary over time and among states and regions, the EIA says. Beyond taxes and fees, several practical factors shape where the sticker shock shows up: the distance from supply, supply disruptions, retail competition, and operating costs.
A simple driver is transportation. Retail gasoline prices tend to rise the further fuel must travel to reach the point of sale because transportation costs are higher.
California offers the clearest example of how multiple constraints stack up. The EIA points to state taxes and fees, environmental requirements, special fuel requirements, and isolated petroleum markets. California also mandates a special blend of gasoline designed to reduce pollution and improve air quality.
The EIA adds that most of the gasoline consumed in California is refined within the state due to a lack of petroleum infrastructure connections. California is geographically isolated from other U.S. refining centers because no pipelines supply California from across the Rocky Mountains. Of the refineries outside California that have physical access to the state’s gasoline markets. only a few can meet California’s stringent fuel blending requirements.
So the gap isn’t just about crude—it’s also about what gets into the bottle that drivers buy.
When you zoom out. the pattern reads as two forces acting at once: Texas benefits from large-scale production and refining capacity. while other states—especially those facing longer transport routes. tighter fuel requirements. or limited infrastructure—can see higher prices even if crude dynamics aren’t identical.
For Texans looking to shop even more aggressively, the cheapest gas near you can be found by using the Gas Buddy website.
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