How Much Americans Spend On Gas Every Year [GRAPHIC]

It's springtime, and you know that means: The return of your gas price nightmares. Hey, with the average American spending over $2,000 per year just to fill up the tank, we can't blame you.

Based on recent estimates, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is roughly $3.74, FOX Business reports. That price, of course, varies widely depending on where you live, largely because of state taxes, as seen below in an infographic by H&R Block.

Recently surging gas prices aren't solely the fault of taxes though. Other factors, such as a tense situation in Iran and other oil supply disruptions, have additionally helped drive prices up, CNNMoney reports. Indeed, prices can rise so fast that during a recent ABC News broadcast, one downtown Los Angeles gas station increased prices by ten cents in two minutes alone.

At least one sector of the economy could reep large benefits from the price spikes: the green economy. A large reason for a recent spike in auto sales? More Americans are lusting for fuel efficient cars.

See H&R Block's "Prices at the Pump" infographic below to find out how your state compares:

Click image to enlarge

Source: H&R Block

Comments

[HKgovt]

11:32 PM on 03/05/2012

What pain in our wallets filling our gas tanks due to High Prices & dumb Washington policy. Need a laugh to get away from your pain and tears at the Gas Pump. (I needed it!) Look at democratic newspapers editorial cartoonist cartoons on High Gas Prices. LINK http://www.cagle.com/2012/02/my-rising-gas-price-cartoons/ Another Energy Laugh LINK http://media.caglecartoons.com/media/cartoons/137/2012/02/29/107306_600.jpg

[Imagine 39]

05:09 PM on 03/05/2012

There are enough cattials growing in the lakes of Minesota to fuel ALL the cars in the Country.
Cattails also purify raw sewage to near potable water and the processed cattails make excellent cattle feed which can be sold at a profit.
Liquor distiller entrepenuers are missing the boat.
Here's your "majic bullet".

[Imagine 39]

05:00 PM on 03/05/2012

Thier are enough cattails growing in the lakes of Minnesota to fuel All the cars in the Country with ethanol yet theirs no "majic bullet" to end our dependence on foreign oil.
Come on liquor distiller entrepenuers we have the distilleries to produce it as well.
http://alcoholcanbeagas.com/

[baker80]

04:24 PM on 03/05/2012

When communities were being built I wish they added sidewalks. The town that I live in does not have any sidewalks and I would be more than happy to bike every where during the summer and warm days. I refuse to bike on the road because I do not trust drivers.

[baxtron]

12:33 PM on 03/05/2012

Is this the Fascisto part of HuffPo? How much goes straight to the GOVT? It's money to pay for what you are using. The roads. The govt is not some black hole where money goes to die. That only happens in gutted corps that hide their money in foreign banks.

[Asal Cliste]

07:10 PM on 03/04/2012

Try payin' 8.00/gal like I do.

[webwzrd]

06:25 PM on 03/04/2012

The price of oil will only continue rising as world demand increases and supply decreases. The only smart thing to do is to move away from as an energy source. The longer we take, the more we will pay. Make fun of algea all you want, but that is the most promising oil replacement at this time.

[ruburnt]

08:54 AM on 03/05/2012

I think the key is to invest in EVERYTHING...oil exploration and drilling, nuclear, solar, algae,wind..etc We need to exploit all of our resources.....

[webwzrd]

10:33 AM on 03/05/2012

We already know that oil drilling does little or nothing to the price. We currently have more oil rigs in operation than the rest of the world COMBINED and it's done NOTHING.

We need to pursue everything else with the same, if not more effort than we we give to oil, simply because oil is finite, and no matter what we do, the price will keep rising.

[baxtron]

12:35 PM on 03/05/2012

demand for oil is flat in US since 2008. gasoline exports from US to world markets is up. oil speculation is up. this is not currently a supply and demand situation with regards to the price. In the future, it will be.

[webwzrd]

01:04 PM on 03/05/2012

Sorry, but you are wrong. As demand in the us has decreased, largely due to increased fuel efficiency in vehicles, demand in India and China have skyrocketed and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Either way, we are seeing first hand what the experts were saying back in 2008 during the "Drill Baby Drill" propaganda drive, which is that more drilling doesn't bring down the price of oil, and the only beneficiaries are the oil companies, who instead of lowering domestic prices, sold the added production overseas for a hefty profit.

[Andman0121]

04:19 PM on 03/04/2012

Why are oil speculators never blamed for this? Because they are the primary problems in this mess.

[jrtcolumbus]

06:14 PM on 03/04/2012

oil speculators - a convienent excuse. for every contract there is a winner and a looser. gas is increasing because the dollar is sinking.

[Unclebuggies]

02:26 PM on 03/04/2012

Darned reply button isn't working. "Nothing changes" says the EPA rated the 84 Civic at 67 MPG. Liar! http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/1984_Honda_Civic.shtml. Don't lie when we can look everything up on the Web.

[Frank J Savel III]

01:40 PM on 03/04/2012

And the gas tax pays for the roads, so no tax, no roads? Is this another immaculate construction fairy tail ?

[Cliff Vegas]

05:06 PM on 03/04/2012

I think it mainly pays for maintenance crews. For instance, if there wasn't a gas tax, Cal Trans probably wouldn't exist, and the crews are pretty busy filling potholes and the like. I see the crews all over LA and Orange County.

Having said that, I wonder how many guys on these road crews are getting paid $30-40/hr with full benefits? I'm not talking about overhead welding or engineers - I'm talking guys with shovels and scrapers.

That's been the most disappointing things about the budget cuts. Instead of taking a micro view of how we spend tax revenue, too many people are willing to cut the revenue completely and lay-off everybody. And we see how well that strategy is working in Ohio where they're shutting down whole townships and in Trenton, NJ where they laid off half the police force.

We need a more balanced and measured approach than what is being done now. We're killing communities and destroying our own infrastructure for political fiat.

[KenGirard]

03:57 PM on 03/05/2012

Not sure what they get paid, but when I see a road crew out in 15 degree weather, working away as semis whip by them at 50mph, I am glad they are willing to do the work.
I doubt you've ever done that type of physical labor, so you don't really have a clue what it is like, working day in, day out.

[c-tom]

07:33 PM on 03/04/2012

I think (not know) that gas tax is based on gallons instead of % of price. Price goes up tax revenue stays the same.

[Frank J Savel III]

06:10 AM on 03/05/2012

Yes, It's been the same for > 1 or 2 decades ! Plus, Cafe requirements today has doubled mpg and we are going to 55 mpg! So, the tax per mile of road has been and will get much smaller. Average driver miles / yr stays about the same 15,000. Is this a fair way to pay for roads that you want to be in good condition? Or is this being used for another agenda?

[KenGirard]

04:00 PM on 03/05/2012

It is based on per gallon. It is one of the reasons our roads are not getting the work they need, as America is using less fuel per mile, so the road crews get less money, while the number of cars tearing up the road goes up each year.

[Kenz300]

11:50 AM on 03/04/2012

We currently import 50% of the oil we use every day down from 60% a few years ago. We are doing more drilling and oil production is up over the last three years. Demand is also down because of increased energy efficiency and higher mileage standards of newer cars and trucks.

The price of oil and gas is now being driven by demand from China and India. Their rising demand is outpacing the worlds supply. China and India are growing at 6-9% a year using more and more oil every day. China is now the worlds largest auto market and the second largest economy. Their growth is the primary factor in the increasing world old demand and the rise in price.

[Kenz300]

11:45 AM on 03/04/2012

The oil companies and the oil producers have a monopoly on transportation fuel.

We need to end that monopoly. We need a choice at the pump.

Bring on the electric, flex-fuel, hybrid, CNG, LNG and hydrogen fueled vehicles.

Gas prices are going up. We need alternatives.

[Alwayspissedoffatsomeone]

12:09 PM on 03/04/2012

Agreed upon with the hydrogen fuel cell, but the rest is wasted. You do have a choice, walk, public transportation, one of those useless POS electric cars and the option of starting your own alternative transportation business.

[KenGirard]

04:10 PM on 03/05/2012

Guy down the street from me converted his old Ford Ranger to run on electric, after his kid threw a rod in it. He only has about 50 miles of range on it, but he drives it almost every single day to work, runs to the store, etc. He says it cost him about $1 to travel 50 miles.
Basically, if it works for you, use it. If it doesn't fit your driving style, then don't use it. But considering that it means there is more gas for you to use, why tell him his $3,000 conversion is not working?

[Enid]

11:32 AM on 03/04/2012

you can not compare country s gas prices.
most European country's fund social or healthcare cost via gasoline taxes making it look higher in price but really less than US gas prices or nearly the same.

[efreilly]

11:24 AM on 03/04/2012

Is it me, or does the phrase "straight to the Government" (not once, but twice no less) when describing the taxes kind of paint this as an anti-Government, anti-Democrat graphic. Seriously, where else would the taxes go?

Also, it would be more instructive to put the United States as a source of oil in line with the rest. By making it a chart of "imported sources" only and putting total oil off in a pie chart off to the side, it really minimizes the contribution of domestic oil. Whereas, if they had made the USA another bar in the bar chart, it would be way out beyond the total width of the graphic (around 3M barrels by my extremely rough estimation), and would completely change the meaning of the graphic. Especially if you consider the total contribution from the US, Canada, and Mexico really puts the idea of US's and Middle East's respective contributions to US oil consumption into question. Which is to say nothing of the 1.6M (2008) barrels we EXPORT daily.

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

10:50 AM on 03/04/2012

the highways are full of oversized trucks and SUV's, typically carrying only a single passenger.

Americans aren't paying too much for gas. They're paying too little. We're the most gluttonous, wasteful society that EVER existed

[George Picard]

10:57 AM on 03/04/2012

Obama is trying as hard as he can to get the price up.

Along with making coal to costly to use.

[efreilly]

11:10 AM on 03/04/2012

There's zero evidence for that, not that you care about facts. The reality is, though, we'd be better off in the long run if prices WERE higher, to discourage people being so wasteful.

[Alwayspissedoffatsomeone]

12:10 PM on 03/04/2012

Very true my friend.