WHY DOES IT COST SO MUCH?Beginner
Who Really Controls Gasoline Prices?
No single person or company sets the number on the gas station sign. Find out what really does, from world oil markets and refineries to summer blends and the 18.4 cent federal tax.
10 questions~13 min80% to pass
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What This Quiz Covers
No single person or company sets the number on the gas station sign. Find out what really does, from world oil markets and refineries to summer blends and the 18.4 cent federal tax.
10 questions · Beginner level · ~13 minutes · WHY DOES IT COST SO MUCH?
Key Facts You'll Learn
- As of 2025, crude oil made up about 51 percent of the average price of regular gasoline, EIA reports, with refining, distribution and marketing, and taxes splitting the rest. That is why pump prices mostly follow world oil prices.
- As of 2026, the federal tax is 18.4 cents a gallon: an 18.3 cent excise tax plus a 0.1 cent fee for cleaning up leaking underground fuel tanks. It is a flat amount, so it does not rise when gas prices do.
- U.S. refineries make about 19 to 20 gallons of gasoline and 11 to 13 gallons of diesel and similar fuels from each 42-gallon barrel, EIA says. The rest becomes jet fuel, asphalt and many other products.
- Prices usually climb in spring and peak in late summer as driving picks up and pricier summer blends kick in. From 2004 to 2023, August averaged about 40 cents a gallon more than January, EIA found.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve stores crude in huge underground salt caverns at four sites in Texas and Louisiana, with room for 714 million barrels. As of October 16, 2026, it held about 282 million barrels, far below its 2009 record of about 727 million.