Midwest region
KentuckyGas prices
EIA doesn’t publish a weekly price for Kentucky on its own. This figure starts from the Midwest average of $4.109 for the week of October 5, 2026 and adjusts it for Kentucky’s fuel tax, which is 9.5¢ a gallon below the regional norm. How we estimate it.
Midwest prices this week
The regional averages Kentucky’s figures are drawn from, in dollars per gallon.
- Regular
- $4.109
- Down $0.182 on the week
- Midgrade
- $4.562
- Down $0.194 on the week
- Premium
- $5.230
- Down $0.176 on the week
- Diesel
- $6.286
- Down $0.240 on the week
The regional price is toward the high end of its past-year range: over the past 52 weeks it has run from $2.585 to $4.405, averaging $3.437. It has moved +5.5% over four weeks and +16.4% over thirteen.
How much of a gallon is tax
Kentucky charges 26.4¢ a gallon in state tax, the 34th highest of 51 (the 50 states and D.C.). With the federal tax that is 44.8¢, about 11% of the pump price.
| State excise tax | 25.00¢ |
|---|---|
| Other state taxes and fees | 1.40¢ |
| Federal excise tax | 18.40¢ |
| Total per gallon | 44.80¢ |
| On a 15-gallon fill | $6.72 |
| Over a year of typical driving | $215 |
From EIA’s notes for Kentucky: Petroleum Storage Tank Environmental Assurance Fee: $0.0140/gal. Rates are calculated quarterly on the average wholesale price of fuel.
Source: EIA federal and state motor fuel taxes, July 2026. A typical year assumes 480 gallons (about 12,000 miles at 25 mpg). Local sales taxes are not included.
Fuel tax in Kentucky and its neighbours
Kentucky has the lowest fuel tax of its neighbours. Drivers coming in from Illinois pay 45.3¢ a gallon less in state tax here, $6.80 on a 15-gallon fill.
| State | State tax | Versus KY | On a 15-gal tank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 26.4¢ | — | — |
| Tennessee | 27.4¢ | +1.0¢ | +$0.15 |
| Missouri | 30.0¢ | +3.6¢ | +$0.54 |
| West Virginia | 35.7¢ | +9.3¢ | +$1.40 |
| Ohio | 38.5¢ | +12.1¢ | +$1.82 |
| Virginia | 42.4¢ | +16.0¢ | +$2.40 |
| Indiana | 64.5¢ | +38.1¢ | +$5.71 |
| Illinois | 71.7¢ | +45.3¢ | +$6.80 |
What driving in Kentucky costs
- A 15-gallon fill
- $60.21
- A year of typical driving
- $1,927
- Versus the national average
- $163 a year less
Planning a drive? The fuel cost calculator prices a trip at this week’s Kentucky figure, for your own car.
How we estimate the Kentucky price
The U.S. Energy Information Administration surveys retail gasoline prices every Monday, but it reports individual figures for only nine states. Kentucky is counted in the Midwest series, which averages it together with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Within one region, crude oil, refining and most delivery costs are shared. The biggest fixed difference from one state to the next is tax, which reaches the pump almost cent for cent. So we take the regional average and add the gap between Kentucky’s tax (26.4¢) and the average tax across the region’s states (35.9¢).
Local taxes, how busy the local market is and how far the state is from a refinery all move real prices too, so treat this as a guide to within a few cents, not a quote. Our methodology covers how every figure on the site is sourced.
Gas prices in Kentucky
- How much is gas in Kentucky right now?
- Regular gasoline in Kentucky is estimated at about $4.01 a gallon this week. That starts from the EIA's Midwest average of $4.109 and adjusts it for Kentucky's fuel tax, which is 9.5¢ a gallon below the average across the region's states. The national average is $4.354.
- How much is the gas tax in Kentucky?
- Kentucky charges 25.00¢ a gallon in state excise tax plus 1.40¢ in other per-gallon taxes and fees, 26.40¢ in all. That ranks 34 of 51 (the 50 states and D.C.), highest first. With the 18.4¢ federal tax, a gallon carries 44.8¢ of tax.
- Is gas cheaper in a state next to Kentucky?
- Not on tax. Kentucky already has the lowest state fuel tax among its neighbours, so any cheaper price across the line would come from local competition rather than tax.
- Why is there no official weekly gas price for Kentucky?
- The EIA's weekly survey samples about 1,000 stations nationwide, enough for reliable regional averages and for nine large states, but not for every state on its own. Kentucky is counted in the Midwest series, which is updated every Monday and published on Tuesday.