Pull up to any gas station in Washington state today and brace yourself.
Today (May 14), the Washington statewide average is $5.77 a gallon, the second highest in the entire country behind only California at $6.15.
In the Seattle area, stations are already ranging between $5.75 and $5.97, with numbers climbing fast since February, when the national average was still sitting at $2.91 a gallon.
That was only three months ago.
How and Why Washington Gas Prices Increased So Fast
The primary driver of the increase is the war in Iran and the resulting constriction of global oil supply. Gas prices nationally are up 43.6% in the last year alone, from $3.14 a gallon in May 2025 to $4.50 or higher today.
Remember also that because of the new gas tax, Washington drivers are paying about $1.27 more than that national average every single gallon, every single fill-up, every single day.
Washington was already carrying some of the highest fuel taxes in the country before any of this happened, which puts a permanent floor under what drivers here pay, no matter what global markets do. When oil prices spike on top of that existing tax burden, the pain compounds fast.
April 2026 just became the sixth-highest month for average gas prices on record, going back to 1992.
The only months that beat it were five months in 2022 and two months in 2008.
Real Families Are Changing Their Lives Because of It
Farmers, delivery drivers, commuters, and small business owners are all absorbing the same hit simultaneously, with no end date on the calendar. Honestly, it looks to get much worse before it gets better.
Washington is now the second most expensive state for gas in America. Six states total are above $5 a gallon. Gas prices have risen by double digits in every single state over the last year, but Washington’s increase is among the steepest in the nation.
Until the situation in Iran changes or state leaders reconsider fuel tax relief, that gap between Washington and the rest of the country is not closing.
And, summer driving season is just getting started.
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Seahawks Celebrate 60 – Seattle, Washington
Gallery Credit: Aj Brewster