Diesel Prices in the West Coast: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
Diesel in the West Coast averaged $7.250 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 26.3 cents on the week, up $2.727 on a year earlier, and 96.5 cents above the U.S. average of $6.285.
By Small Fleet HQ | Updated
Diesel prices in the West Coast, week of 14 September 2026
Prices are for the week of .
The figure is EIA's PADD 5 series, a volume-weighted average of cash self-serve prices with taxes included. It covers Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
| Measure | West Coast | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| This week | $7.250 | $6.285 |
| Change on the week | up 26.3 cents | up 31.8 cents |
| Change over four weeks | up $1.047 | up 83.1 cents |
| Same week a year earlier | $4.523 | $3.739 |
| 52-week high | $7.250, 14 September 2026 | $6.285, 14 September 2026 |
| 52-week low | $4.110, 12 January 2026 | $3.459, 12 January 2026 |
The West Coast is the second most expensive of EIA's ten regions this week. Over the last 52 weeks it averaged 83.2 cents above the U.S. average. This week is the highest price in the series, which starts on 21 March 1994.
The trend in the West Coast over two years
The chart shows the West Coast 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 West Coast
The calculator starts from the West Coast'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast price | $7.250 | $0.824 | $412.00 |
| U.S. average | $6.285 | $0.692 | $346.00 |
This week a surcharge on the U.S. average pays $66.00 less on that load than one on the West Coast's price. The truck burns about 68.7 gallons either way, roughly $498.08 at the West Coast's average pump price.
Diesel price before taxes in the West Coast
Every price above includes the federal diesel tax of $0.244 a gallon and state taxes. The table takes both off the West Coast'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $0.180 | $0.190 | $6.816 |
| California | $0.482 | $0.929 | $6.077 |
| Nevada | $0.270 | $0.278 | $6.729 |
| Oregon | $0.400 | $0.400 | $6.606 |
| Washington | $0.595 | $0.632 | $6.374 |
Arizona has the lowest state diesel taxes in the region at $0.190 and California the highest at $0.929, a spread of 73.9 cents a gallon that carries straight into the price before taxes.
What EIA counts in each state's taxes and fees
- Arizona. Storage Tank tax: $0.0100/gal. "Use Class motor vehicle" diesel rate = $0.2600/gal
- California. 2.25% state sales tax on gasoline, 13.00% state sales tax on diesel (prepaid rates for these sales taxes: gasoline $0.0800/gal; diesel $0.4250/gal). Additional District sales taxes may apply. State Underground Storage Tank fee (all products): $0.02/gal. Oil Spill Prevention and Administration (OPSA) Fee (all products): $0.0990 per barrel ($0.0024/gal). Gasoline and diesel are also subject to costs associated with the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade programs.
- Nevada. Additional county and local option taxes on motor fuels add $0.0500 to $0.1000/gal (or more) to the state rate (County mandatory: $0.0100/gal, County Option: $0.0400-$0.9000/gal (or indexed rate)). Petroleum Products Inspection Fee: $0.00055/gal on gasoline; Clean-up Fee on gasoline, No. 1 and No. 2 distillates: $0.0075/gal.
- Oregon. LOTS (local option taxes) allowed and levied at the county and municipal levels. Petroleum load fee: $10.00 per load (load = anything over 100 gals).
- Washington. Oil Spill Administration Tax: $0.0400/bbl ($0.0009523/gal). Oil Spill Response tax: $0.0100/bbl ($0.000238/gal). Hazardous Substance tax on petroleum products that can be measured on per-barrel basis: $1.4900/bbl ($0.0355/gal). "Border Zone Area Motor Fuel Tax" $0.01/gal in counties bordering Canada. Petroleum Products Tax (PPT) reinstated as of 1/1/20: rate is based on the wholesale value of the petroleum product multiplied by .0030.
Those state taxes are what your IFTA return settles, by the miles you run in each state. To set the West Coast 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 Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon or Washington is inside this regional figure. Alaska and Hawaii belong to the same EIA district, but the diesel survey covers the lower 48 states only. EIA also splits the West Coast into the West Coast outside California and California, each with its own series.
- Diesel Prices in the West Coast Outside California: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
- Diesel Prices in California: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)
Method: how each number was obtained
- The weekly prices are EIA's PADD 5 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 West Coast, 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 West Coast 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 West Coast: Weekly Trucking Fuel Cost and Surcharge (2026)", updated September 16, 2026, https://smallfleethq.com/fuel-cards/diesel/west-coast. Price data: U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly retail on-highway diesel prices, PADD 5, week of 14 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
EIA's average retail on-highway diesel price for the West Coast was $7.250 a gallon for the week of 14 September 2026, up 26.3 cents on the week before and above the U.S. average by 96.5 cents.
EIA's the West Coast figure covers Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Alaska and Hawaii are in the same district but outside the diesel survey.
It depends on your contract. With the West Coast's price of $7.250, a $1.250 base price and 7.28 miles a gallon, the surcharge comes to $0.824 a mile. A contract that reads the U.S. average uses $6.285 instead, so check which series yours names.
The West Coast's state diesel taxes and fees run from $0.190 a gallon in Arizona to $0.929 in California 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 ↗