California gas not as expensive as it seems
”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations, noting that these grades are best seen as a mix of art and data.
Buzz: California may have the nation's priciest gasoline, but a recent fill-up's hit to a typical paycheck statewide is far less than many Americans suffer.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet's pumpprice-to-pay ratio comparing state-by-state gasoline prices and driving habits to employment, tax and cost-of-living data from government data, AAA, FinanceBuzz, Metromile and WalletHub.
Top line
A typical California worker is now spending 6.3% of their “effective” paycheck on gasoline at today's inflated prices — but that's only the 30th highest share among the states.
The deepest pump pain is in Wyoming, where 10.6% of pay goes to gasoline. Next is Mississippi at 9.9%, New Mexico at 9%, Indiana at 8.1%, and West Virginia at 7.7%.
Smallest? New Hampshire at 4.5% then Washington and New York at 4.3%, Rhode Island at 4.8%, and Colorado at 4.9%.
And as for California's big rivals — Texas was 27th highest at 6.4% and Florida was No. 24 at 6.6%. Yes, worse than California.
Details
Let's look at the math … Pump prices: Zero surprise! California was No. 1 in the nation at $5.74 a gallon last week. Next was Hawaii at $4.96 then, Nevada at $4.95, Washington at $4.74, and Alaska at $4.73,Oregon at $4.73.
Gas bargains? Kansas at $3.82 then Missouri at $3.85, Oklahoma at $3.86, Arkansas and Nebraska at $3.90.
And Texas? No. 39 at $4 and Florida at No. 15 at $4.35.
Driving: Despite the nightmare commutes, Californians overall don't drive as much as you think. Miles-per-driver ranked 40th at 241 per week. Folks in densely populated states with traditionally high gas prices tend to drive less.
The most driving is done in Wyoming at 463 miles a week then Mississippi at 384, New Mexico at 368, Missouri at 356, and Georgia at 353. Least? Rhode Island at 192 then New York at 196, Washington at 211, Alaska at 214, and Pennsylvania at 220.
Texas? No. 14 at 311. Florida? No. 26 at 280.
Gas tab: So combining gas prices, driving distances — and assuming getting 22 miles per gallon — California's weekly fuel costs ranked seventh-highest at $63.
Tops? Wyoming at $85, then Mississippi at $70,New Mexico at $70, Georgia at $69, and Indiana at $67. Lowest? Rhode Island at $38 then New York at $40, New Hampshire at $43 and Pennsylvania at $44.
Texas? No. 18 at $57. Florida? No. 20 at $55.
Pump-pain-to-pay ratio: So I then took these typical fuel bills and divided it by a state's “effective” average weekly wages — that's pay adjusted for federal and state taxes, the statewide cost of living, and unemployment rates.
The “effective” California paycheck, after all these tweaks, fell from $1,576 to $997. But that's still third-highest nationally and the key reason why the state's pump-pain-to-pay ratio looks relatively favorable on a nationwide scorecard.
By the way, the biggest paychecks were in Washington at $1,040 a week and Massachusetts at $1,025. Smallest? Hawaii at $703, then Mississippi at $707 and Maine at $751.
Texas? No. 14 at $889. Florida? No. 29 at $832.
Caveat
Remember, this isn't your experience. This yardstick compares the typical worker with typical wages driving the typical distance in the typical vehicle.
Rising prices will also mean households will adjust their transportation habits as much as possible — so real-time pump pain is constantly changing.
Plus, this data doesn't suggest that the jobless, underemployed or folks on fixed incomes — plus drivers with long commutes or large gasoline expenses for a business — aren't suffering from real pump-price pain.
And if you bought a a gasguzzling giant truck for fun thinking gas would be relatively cheap forever, my sympathies.
Bottom line
The 2022 gas-price shock has made many Americans live the California pump-pain experience.
How that plays on the policy stage will be fascinating to watch.
Will a “Drill, Baby Drill” push for more U.S. oil exploration take hold? Or will the move away from fossil fuels intensify?