Gas tax by state — all 51 jurisdictions ranked

State motor fuel taxes range from 8.0 cents a gallon in Alaska to 57.6 cents in Pennsylvania — a spread of 49.6 cents, or 620 percent of the cheapest rate. The simple average across the 51 is 29.0 cents. A federal excise tax of 18.4 cents a gallon applies everywhere and is not included above, so it does not change the ranking.

Every jurisdiction, ranked

Annual fuel cost column assumes a 30 mpg car over the EPA's 11,500 miles a year, at $3.50 a gallon before state tax.

What the spread costs a driver over a year

The gap between the cheapest and priciest jurisdiction, by how efficient the car is. Efficiency does not shrink the gap in percentage terms, but it does shrink it in dollars: the more miles per gallon a car gets, the less the tax on each of those gallons adds up.

Most efficient vehicles to pair with a low-tax state

A low state tax only helps in proportion to how much fuel you buy, so it matters most for the thirstiest vehicles. These are the most efficient nameplates in the EPA record with at least three model years.

• Lucid Air Pure with — best 146 mpg, 79 gallons a year.
• Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus — best 142 mpg, 81 gallons a year.
• Lucid Air Touring with — best 140 mpg, 82 gallons a year.
• Hyundai Ioniq 6 Long range (18 inch Wheels) — best 140 mpg, 82 gallons a year.
• Tesla Model 3 Long Range — best 137 mpg, 84 gallons a year.
• Hyundai Ioniq Electric — best 136 mpg, 85 gallons a year.
• Hyundai Ioniq 6 Standard Range — best 135 mpg, 85 gallons a year.
• Tesla Model Y Long Range — best 134 mpg, 86 gallons a year.
• Tesla Model 3 — best 132 mpg, 87 gallons a year.
• Lucid Air G Touring XR with — best 131 mpg, 88 gallons a year.
• Tesla Model 3 Standard Range — best 131 mpg, 88 gallons a year.
• Subaru Uncharted — best 129 mpg, 89 gallons a year.