As New Jersey Increases Its Gas Tax, Find Out How Your State Ranks

On Tuesday, New Jersey drivers will begin paying an extra 23 cents in taxes for every gallon of gas they buy. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recently signed into law a bill that will raise the state’s gas taxes for the first time in 30 years.

Prior to the hike, New Jersey’s state gas tax was only 14.5 cents/gal, the second lowest in the country. Starting November 1, it will be 37.5 cents/gal, the sixth highest.

The national average state gas tax is around 20.7 cents/gal.

Of course, in addition to the state excise tax on gas, drivers also pay federal excise tax and other state taxes on gasoline. When those other taxes are factored in, the average U.S. driver pays a total of 48.1 cents per gallon in gasoline tax.

Gas taxes are much higher in some states than others. Drivers in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii pay the highest gasoline taxes at over 62 cents/gal.

Drivers in Alaska, South Carolina and Oklahoma pay the lowest total gas taxes at less than 36 cents/gal.

A full list of gas taxes by state (as of October 1) is included in the American Petroleum Institute chart below.