Why is gas expensive in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania drivers pay $3.52 per gallon, about 13 cents above the national average. The state's Oil Company Franchise Tax of 58.7 cents per gallon is the highest single state-level fuel tax in the country. The Philadelphia metropolitan area also falls under federal Reformulated Gasoline rules.
What you're paying for
State taxes and policy in Pennsylvania add an estimated $0.67 per gallon on top of the roughly $2.85 base cost (crude oil, distribution, and the federal excise tax) that every U.S. driver pays.
Against its neighbors
Amber line marks the U.S. average of $3.38.
Price over time
Pennsylvania U.S. average
Pennsylvania, explained
Why does Pennsylvania have the highest gas tax in the country?−
Pennsylvania's Oil Company Franchise Tax of 58.7 cents per gallon is the highest single state-level fuel tax in the United States. The tax was originally enacted in 1980 and substantially restructured by Act 89 of 2013, which lifted the cap on the tax's wholesale-price base. Since then, the tax has risen automatically with average petroleum wholesale prices, reaching 58.7 cents per gallon in 2026 from about 41 cents in 2014.
What is the Oil Company Franchise Tax?+
The Oil Company Franchise Tax (OCFT) is Pennsylvania's main state-level tax on motor fuel. Technically, it is a tax on the average wholesale price of petroleum products, paid by petroleum-product distributors. The tax base is the prior year's average wholesale price, with a statutory minimum but no maximum. Because the base is the wholesale price, the tax rises automatically when wholesale prices rise. Pennsylvania separately collects a small 6-cent flat excise tax for emergency response and aviation purposes.
Why are Philadelphia gas prices higher than the rest of Pennsylvania?+
Philadelphia and its surrounding counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery) are an ozone non-attainment area under the federal Clean Air Act and use federal Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) blends. RFG-blend gasoline costs about 7 to 8 cents per gallon more to produce than conventional gasoline. The rest of Pennsylvania uses conventional fuel.
How many refineries does Pennsylvania have?+
Just one active refinery: Monroe Energy's Trainer refinery near Philadelphia, with about 185,000 barrels per day of capacity. The Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery closed in 2019 after a fire, removing about 335,000 barrels per day of capacity from the East Coast supply. Pennsylvania has lost more refining capacity in the past decade than any other state. Most Pennsylvania gasoline is supplied by the Colonial Pipeline from the Gulf Coast.
Does Pennsylvania participate in any cap-and-trade program?+
Pennsylvania joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in 2022, but RGGI covers only electricity generation, not motor fuels. The state has not enacted any cap-and-trade or low-carbon fuel standard covering transportation fuels. Subsequent legal challenges have left the state's RGGI participation in limbo, but in any event the program does not affect gasoline prices.
Why is Pennsylvania more expensive than Ohio?+
The single biggest factor is the gas tax: 58.7 cents per gallon in Pennsylvania versus 38.5 cents in Ohio, a 20-cent gap. Ohio has slightly more in-state refining capacity (four refineries vs Pennsylvania's one), which doesn't reduce retail prices directly but does provide more supply security. Pennsylvania's larger federal RFG-area population (Philadelphia is bigger than Cincinnati) adds a small additional premium for those drivers.