Fill Er Up – Illinois Ranked Top 5 Highest Tax on Gas in America

There's a reason why so many cross the bridge into Missouri to fill up their gas tanks. That's why it's not exactly news that Illinois has high gas taxes, but a new ranking shows just how high they are compared to the rest of America.

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This just released data from 24/7 Wall St shows the states with the highest and lowest gas taxes. Spoiler Alert - Illinois is NOT among the lowest. Nope. When it comes to taxes on fuel, Illinois comes in at #5 in America for the highest gas taxes. Here are the staggering statistics shared that explain why the Land of Lincoln charges so dang much for fuel:

> Avg. state gas tax: $0.42 per gallon– tied
> Avg. gas price, April 11, 2023: $3.98 per gallon (7th highest)
> State taxes as pct. of gas price: 10.6% (7th highest)
> 2021 motor fuel consumption: 5,858,870,000 gallons (9th most)
> 2021 motor fuel consumption per licensed driver: 700.4 gal/driver (16th fewest)
> 2021 licensed drivers: 8,364,843 (6th most)

By way of comparison, Missouri is ranked as the 39th highest gas tax state (in this case lower is definitely better).

Why do some states charge so much extra for gas?

Investopedia claims that it's because gas taxes are used for infrastructure projects. I'm not sure if that's the real reason for the tax being so high in Illinois, but I have no doubt many will use their own political analysis to break this down.

The entire 24/7 Wall St article is worth a read to see how other states compare. Next time you have to follow a long line of traffic heading west across the Bayview Bridge, you'll know the reason why if you didn't already.