Washington & Oregon Are The Two States With This Dubious Dishonor

Residents along the West Coast have been bemoaning gas prices for years.  Policies passed by lawmakers in all three states (Washington, Oregon, and California) have targeted companies that produce, process, and sell petroleum products.

Those policies have played a significant role in gas prices going up.  In 2021 Washington State passed the Climate Commitment Act which patterned itself after a similar law in California requiring business that emit carbon to buy "credits".  Said credit purchases allow those entities to emit the amount of carbon that their purchased credits cover.

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The distinction that Washington State and Oregon hold when compared to the rest of the nation where gas prices are concerned (yes...including California) will infuriate most residents.  The website paylesspower.com took a look at gas price trends since 2023 and for 48 of 50 states things could be worse.

Even though California consistently has the highest gas price in the U.S., it was actually a bit higher two years ago when it sat just under $5 per gallon.  Hawaii is usually in the running for the second highest gas prices, but they have seen close to a 40 cent drop since 2023.

There Are Only Two States In The U.S. Where Prices ROSE Since 2023

You probably guessed it already but Washington State and Oregon are the only two States where the average price for a gallon of gas has gone up since 2023.  Washington State's average price increased 17 cents while Oregon's average went up 11 cents per gallon.  That may not sound like much, but when you compare it to the rest of the Country...it is.

The average U.S. gas price dropped 12% since 2023, going from $3.40 down to $3.00 a gallon.  Colorado is down over 85 cents per gallon since 2023.  Even California has seen a 9 cents per gallon decrease over the same span.  To make matters worse, the Washington State gas tax went up another 6 cents at the beginning of this month.  If you want to compare Washington and Oregon to the rest of the US, you can check out Payless Power's results here.