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Diesel price gaps between regions: is the cheaper stop worth the detour?
EIA publishes weekly diesel prices for the regions of the country. The gap between neighbours changes from week to week and sometimes reaches dollars a gallon. This page shows today's gaps against five years of history and prices a detour with your own gallons, miles and costs.
Weekly seriesEIA retail on-highway diesel by region, weekly since Jan 7, 2019Data as of the week of Oct 5, 2026 (latest EIA week in this snapshot)Retrieved Oct 10, 2026, 06:21 UTCretrieved Oct 10, 2026
Read this first
Regional averages are not station prices. A wide gap between two regions does not mean a cheaper stop sits on your route, and prices move every week. The calculator is only as good as the pump prices you give it. Nothing here is a forecast or a fuel-card quote.
Price a detour
Choose the two regions, adjust the prices to your pump prices, and add the fill and the detour.
Gap history: California minus West Coast except California, last 260 weeks
Each point is one week. Dashed line: the latest gap. Dotted: zero. A positive gap means the second region is dearer.
What the stop is worth
Net of the detour
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- Price gap you entered
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- Gross saving on the gallons
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- Detour fuel
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- Detour other cost
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- Break-even extra miles
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- Regional gap history
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Pre-filled values are Example data. Pick the regions to load the latest regional prices, then type your own pump prices if you have them.
Enter the stops.
Formula: gross saving = (usual price minus cheaper price) x gallons. Detour fuel = extra miles / mpg x cheaper price. Detour other cost = extra miles x your cost per mile. Break-even miles = gross saving / (fuel per mile + other cost per mile), rounded down. Integer mills (tenths of a cent), rounded once to cents. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Latest price by region
Dots show the weekly average price. The dashed line is the U.S. average.
Gaps between neighbouring regions
Gap = second region minus first, in cents a gallon. The last column is the share of the last 260 weeks with a larger gap than today.
| Pair | Gap now | 52-week average | Widest, second dearer | Widest, first dearer | Weeks with a larger gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England to Central Atlantic | +1 c | -4 c | +28 c | -25 c | 45% |
| Central Atlantic to Lower Atlantic | -79 c | -42 c | -6 c | -79 c | 99% |
| Lower Atlantic to Gulf Coast | +12 c | -19 c | +15 c | -44 c | 1% |
| Gulf Coast to Midwest | +47 c | +28 c | +66 c | -11 c | 3% |
| Midwest to Rocky Mountain | -2 c | -9 c | +44 c | -40 c | 68% |
| Rocky Mountain to West Coast except California | +22 c | +47 c | +95 c | -4 c | 73% |
| West Coast except California to California | +159 c | +110 c | +159 c | +41 c | 0% |
| Central Atlantic to Midwest | -20 c | -33 c | +13 c | -103 c | 13% |
| Lower Atlantic to Midwest | +59 c | +9 c | +59 c | -32 c | 0% |
| Gulf Coast to Rocky Mountain | +45 c | +19 c | +73 c | -23 c | 15% |
Source: EIA open data API v2, retrieved Oct 10, 2026. Gap now and ranges use weekly prices from Oct 18, 2021 to Oct 5, 2026. The 5-year range covers the last 260 weeks.
Every region
Click a heading to sort. Prices are dollars a gallon; changes are cents a gallon.
| Region | Latest price | Vs U.S. average | Change in 4 weeks | 52-week low | 52-week high | Where in the 52-week range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $6.476 | +28 c | +49 c | $3.933 | $6.517 | 98% |
| Central Atlantic | $6.485 | +29 c | +43 c | $3.843 | $6.546 | 98% |
| Lower Atlantic | $5.699 | -50 c | +9 c | $3.484 | $6.139 | 83% |
| Midwest | $6.286 | +9 c | +34 c | $3.365 | $6.680 | 88% |
| Gulf Coast | $5.819 | -38 c | +7 c | $3.160 | $6.177 | 88% |
| Rocky Mountain | $6.267 | +7 c | +46 c | $3.185 | $6.407 | 96% |
| West Coast except California | $6.490 | +29 c | +18 c | $3.674 | $6.791 | 90% |
| California | $8.082 | +188 c | +32 c | $4.613 | $8.246 | 95% |
Source: EIA open data API v2, retrieved Oct 10, 2026. Latest week Oct 5, 2026. "Where in the range" is 0% at the 52-week low and 100% at the high.
What this number means
- A regional gap is a starting point for a question, not an answer: which station, on which exit, at what discount.
- Most of a detour's cost is not fuel. With the example inputs (150 gallons, 159 cents of gap) the break-even is 95 extra miles: go further and the stop loses money.
- Gaps move together with prices: when diesel jumps, the regions rarely move by the same amount.
What to do about it
- Compare two real pump prices on your route before you plan a detour.
- Run the break-even with your own cost per mile, then keep the rule of thumb in your dispatch notes.
- If your fuel card discount is a fixed amount, it applies in both regions: use the gap, not the price.
Questions
Is the EIA price what I pay at the pump?
No. EIA publishes a weekly average retail price for a region. A station, a card network or your fuel contract can be far from it. That is why the calculator lets you type your own two pump prices over the regional ones.
What does the gap between regions contain?
Everything that differs: fuel taxes, refinery and pipeline access, local competition and seasonal blends. A gap of a given size is not a promise that a cheaper stop exists on your route.
What is a fair detour cost per mile?
It is whatever the detour really costs you: fuel burned, driver time, wear and the load you could have moved. We pre-fill an example figure for the cost besides fuel. Replace it with your own cost per mile.
Why show history next to today?
A gap that is wide today may be normal for that pair. The share of the last 260 weeks with a larger gap tells you whether it is unusual.
How old is the data?
The snapshot was retrieved Oct 10, 2026 and ends with the EIA week of Oct 5, 2026. EIA publishes on Mondays, so the real price can already have moved.
Related guides and tools
- Diesel prices: weekly EIA series by region
- Diesel budget buffer: how many cents to hold in reserve
- Diesel sensitivity: what a price move does to margin
- Fuel card vs cash price gap: what a card really saves
- Cost per mile: your own cost per mile
- All tools: free calculators
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