Diesel Prices in the Midwest: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
Diesel in the Midwest averaged $6.250 a gallon for the week of 14 September 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of on-highway diesel prices. That is up 30.4 cents on the week, up $2.540 on a year earlier, and 3.5 cents below the U.S. average of $6.285.
By Small Fleet HQ | Updated
Diesel prices in the Midwest, week of 14 September 2026
Prices are for the week of .
The figure is EIA's PADD 2 series, a volume-weighted average of cash self-serve prices with taxes included. It covers Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
| Measure | Midwest | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| This week | $6.250 | $6.285 |
| Change on the week | up 30.4 cents | up 31.8 cents |
| Change over four weeks | up 81.5 cents | up 83.1 cents |
| Same week a year earlier | $3.710 | $3.739 |
| 52-week high | $6.250, 14 September 2026 | $6.285, 14 September 2026 |
| 52-week low | $3.365, 12 January 2026 | $3.459, 12 January 2026 |
The Midwest is the fifth most expensive of EIA's ten regions this week. Over the last 52 weeks it averaged 5.6 cents below the U.S. average. This week is the highest price in the series, which starts on 21 March 1994.
The trend in the Midwest over two years
The chart shows the Midwest against the U.S. average for the last 104 weeks. Move a pointer across it, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to read any week.
Fuel surcharge in the Midwest
The calculator starts from the Midwest's price this week. Swap in the series your contract names, then enter its base price and miles per gallon.
Enter your contract terms
How it adds up
The starting base price of $1.25 is an example, and 7.28 miles a gallon is the average ATBS reported for its owner-operator clients in 2025. On a 500-mile load, the regional and national prices give different answers:
| Contract reads | Price | Surcharge a mile | On 500 miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest price | $6.250 | $0.687 | $343.50 |
| U.S. average | $6.285 | $0.692 | $346.00 |
This week a surcharge on the U.S. average pays $2.50 more on that load than one on the Midwest's price. The truck burns about 68.7 gallons either way, roughly $429.38 at the Midwest's average pump price.
Diesel price before taxes in the Midwest
Every price above includes the federal diesel tax of $0.244 a gallon and state taxes. The table takes both off the Midwest's price for each state it covers, using the diesel columns of EIA's July 2026 (revised) tax table.
| State | State diesel tax | Taxes and fees in total | Price before taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $0.571 | $0.792 | $5.214 |
| Indiana | $0.630 | $0.640 | $5.366 |
| Iowa | $0.325 | $0.325 | $5.681 |
| Kansas | $0.260 | $0.270 | $5.736 |
| Kentucky | $0.220 | $0.234 | $5.772 |
| Michigan | $0.524 | $0.534 | $5.472 |
| Minnesota | $0.326 | $0.327 | $5.679 |
| Missouri | $0.295 | $0.300 | $5.706 |
| Nebraska | $0.318 | $0.321 | $5.685 |
| North Dakota | $0.230 | $0.230 | $5.776 |
| Ohio | $0.470 | $0.470 | $5.536 |
| Oklahoma | $0.190 | $0.200 | $5.806 |
| South Dakota | $0.280 | $0.300 | $5.706 |
| Tennessee | $0.270 | $0.284 | $5.722 |
| Wisconsin | $0.309 | $0.329 | $5.677 |
Oklahoma has the lowest state diesel taxes in the region at $0.200 and Illinois the highest at $0.792, a spread of 59.2 cents a gallon that carries straight into the price before taxes.
What EIA counts in each state's taxes and fees
- Illinois. Prepaid Sales Tax Rates: $0.2100/gal for gasoline containing less than 15% denatured ethanol and diesel containing less than 10% biodiesel or renewable diesel, $0.1900/gal for E15 gasohol, and $0.1700/gal for mid-range ethanol blends. Underground Storage Tank tax: $0.0030/gal. Environmental Impact Fee: $0.0080/gal.
- Indiana. The Gasoline Use Tax (formerly the prepaid sales tax) is considered the equivalent of the 7% sales tax that would be collected by a retail merchant and replaces the obligation of the retail merchant to collect the sales tax on the sale of gasoline. The Gasoline Use Tax is calculated on a monthly basis (see Departmental Notices for new rates). The rate is $0.2650/gal, as of 6/1/26. A 7% sales tax on diesel fuel no longer applies. Oil Inspection fee: $0.0100/gal.
- Iowa. Environmental Protection Charge (EPC): Repealed as of 12/31/16 ($0.0100/gal on petroleum products). Ethanol Blended Gasoline E-15 or Higher is a new fuel group effective 7/1/20. Diesel includes biodiesel B-19 and lower as of 7/1/2024.
- Kansas. Environmental Assurance Fee: $0.0100/gal (back in effect 1/1/20). Petroleum Product Inspection Fee: 0.015 cents per barrel (bbl = 50 gals) or $0.0003/gal.
- Kentucky. Petroleum Storage Tank Environmental Assurance Fee: $0.0140/gal. Rates are calculated quarterly on the average wholesale price of fuel. Beginning July 1, 2016, rates calculated and adjusted on an annual basis. Governor Beshear's Executive Order 2026-235 in May 2026 temporarily reduced motor fuel tax rates by 10 cents per gallon, which expired June 30, 2026.
- Michigan. Prepaid Sales Tax rates on fuels ceased as of January 1, 2026. Environmental protection regulatory fee: $0.0100/gal all products.
- Minnesota. Petroleum Tank Cleanup Fee (when in effect): $20 per 1,000 gallons ($0.0200/gal). Inspection fee: $1 for every 1,000 gallons received ($0.0010/gal).
- Missouri. Petroleum Inspection fee: $0.0450 per 50 gallons ($0.0009/gal); Transport Load Fee $32.00 per 8,000 gallons ($0.0040/gal).
- Nebraska. Petroleum Release Remedial Action fee: gasoline, gasohol, aviation gasoline, ethanol: $0.0090/gal; diesel, jet fuel, all others products: $0.0030/gal.
- North Dakota. Inspection fee: $0.00025/gal on gasoline, kerosene, tractor fuel, heating oil, or diesel fuel.
- Ohio. Petroleum Activity Tax (PAT): 0.65% on the gross receipts from the first sale, transfer, exchange, or other disposition of motor fuel in Ohio to a point outside of the distribution system.
- Oklahoma. Petroleum Storage Underground Tank Release fee: $0.0100/gal on gasoline, diesel fuel and blended fuel (gasohol, ethanol and fuel grade ethanol).
- South Dakota. Tank Inspection Fee: $0.0200/gal.
- Tennessee. Special Privilege Tax: $0.0100/gal. Environmental Assurance fee: $0.0040/gal.
- Wisconsin. Petroleum Inspection fee: $0.0200/gal.
Those state taxes are what your IFTA return settles, by the miles you run in each state. To set the Midwest beside every other region, see diesel prices by region.
Why there is no single-state price here
EIA publishes weekly diesel averages for the country, its regions and California, and no other state. A truck fueling anywhere in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee or Wisconsin is inside this regional figure.
Method: how each number was obtained
- The weekly prices are EIA's PADD 2 on-highway diesel series, all types, in dollars a gallon, read from EIA's history table each day so that revisions carry over.
- EIA collects the cash self-serve price, taxes included, as of 8:00 a.m. local time each Monday.
- Federal and state diesel taxes and fees come from EIA's federal and state motor fuels tax table.
- Changes, highs and lows, gaps to the U.S. average, rank, surcharge figures and prices before taxes are our arithmetic on those figures.
The page updates only when EIA's figures change. Pages across the site follow our rating methodology.
What we could not verify
- County and local fuel taxes, and state taxes on gross or net receipts, which EIA's tax table leaves out.
- The price at any single truck stop in the Midwest, which can sit well away from the regional average.
- The base price and fuel economy in your own surcharge program.
Sample, window and limitations
The Midwest series starts on 21 March 1994. EIA changed its survey sample on 13 June 2022 and says prices from that week on are not directly comparable with earlier weeks. The chart shows two years and the table one. The prices before taxes use this week's regional price with each state's taxes, so each is an estimate: EIA measured no price for the state itself.
How to cite this
Small Fleet HQ, "Diesel Prices in the Midwest: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)", updated September 16, 2026, https://smallfleethq.com/fuel-cards/diesel/midwest. Price data: U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly retail on-highway diesel prices, PADD 2, week of 14 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
EIA's average retail on-highway diesel price for the Midwest was $6.250 a gallon for the week of 14 September 2026, up 30.4 cents on the week before and below the U.S. average by 3.5 cents.
EIA's the Midwest figure covers Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
It depends on your contract. With the Midwest's price of $6.250, a $1.250 base price and 7.28 miles a gallon, the surcharge comes to $0.687 a mile. A contract that reads the U.S. average uses $6.285 instead, so check which series yours names.
The Midwest's state diesel taxes and fees run from $0.200 a gallon in Oklahoma to $0.792 in Illinois in EIA's latest table, on top of the $0.244 federal tax.
Sources & References (6)
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, weekly retail on-highway diesel prices
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices, history tables by region
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, On-Highway Diesel Fuel Price Survey methodology
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, definitions for retail gasoline and diesel prices, including the PADD regions
eia.gov ↗U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal and state motor fuels taxes, July 2026 (revised) edition
eia.gov ↗Todd Dills, "Owner-op income up, with 'capacity-driven' trucking recovery ongoing, fuel-cost wildcard", Overdrive, 26 March 2026 (ATBS 2025 fuel economy)
overdriveonline.com ↗