On Monday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was sitting at $4.52 statewide

Timothy Schumann
The Center Square Washington

Despite Washingtonians seeing the seventh straight week of price declines at the pump, the Evergreen State ranks as the 4th most expensive fuel market nationwide.

On Monday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was sitting at $4.52 statewide, down from $4.67 the week prior, according to AAA data. This 15 cent per gallon decrease improved the rate of decline two cents per gallon over last week’s 13 cent drop.

“Gas prices are dropping nationwide, with some of the largest decreases happening on the West Coast,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross in a statement. “But the West also has the farthest to fall because its prices are so elevated. For instance, California is still $1.50 higher than the national average.”

Washington’s $4.52 does place it a full $1.02 higher than that average, when compared with the national average price of $3.54 per gallon. This means Washingtonians are paying $1.64 more than the $2.88 per gallon currently paid by Texans, the current least least expensive fuel market in all 50 states.

That’s over a 50% price increase from the Lone Star to the Evergreen State.

Holding at fourth nationwide from the week prior, Washington’s pump prices were again only beat out by Nevada, California, and Hawaii who filled out third to first slots on the list.

Washington’s intra-state variance remains high, spanning a range of 95 cents per gallon. The outliers this week are Jefferson County in the west and Douglas County in the east, at $4.95 and $4.00 per gallon respectively. This price variance still largely follows the Cascade Range, with residents to the west paying a higher premium at the pump than residents to the east.

Washington state residents also have a new cap-and-trade tax to look forward to starting Jan. 1 which, as previously reported by The Center Square, would drive fuel costs an estimated 46 cents per gallon higher. This will come on top of Washington’s current rate of 49.4 cents per gallon of state tax.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.