The 5 US cities with the lowest gas prices

Spoiler: Stay away from the coast if you want affordable gas

Contributing Writer, Autoblog
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In the United States, most vehicles use gas. Whether they are fully internal combustion or hybrid, data show that over 90% of cars sold in the US last year were gas-powered. With EV federal tax credits expiring and fewer fully-electric vehicles flying off dealership lots, many automakers have returned their focus to making hybrids.

Hybrids are seen by many as a half-step toward the inevitable EV takeover of the automotive industry. While that may be accurate, it’s not our reality in 2026. Gas-powered vehicles still dominate the roads, and EV infrastructure has a long way to go before it can persuade owners of ICE vehicles to go full-electric. In 2025, fewer than 8% of vehicles sold were EVs.

These facts mean gas prices are important for most drivers. We dove through all the available data to find which cities and towns in the United States have the cheapest gas prices. While our list of places with the highest gas prices had some surprises, this list might not. We weighed current pricing, year-over-year changes, and how far gas prices have fallen since the beginning of the year.

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5. Wichita, Kansas ($2.28)

Coming in fifth is Wichita, a town situated almost perfectly for cheap gas prices. It’s very close to Oklahoma, which has some of the lowest gas prices in the US. Wichita also sits on main trucking corridors, making it an easy “drop” for tanker truckers. Kansas is also on the ONEOK and Megallan pipeline – another reason gas here is so affordable.

This year, gas prices in Wichita have dropped 2.1%; gas was $2.41 in early January. Year over year, Wichita has seen its gas prices dip 16.3%, the most significant decline of any city in the United States.

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4. Poteau, Oklahoma ($2.29)

Oddly, Poteau is the only Oklahoma town that cracked the top five. Other Oklahoma towns, like Tulsa and Lawton, cracked the top 10 – but not the top five. Like Wichita, Poteau exists on major trucking routes, so it’s not hard to find for gas delivery vehicles, but it’s a curious anomaly nonetheless.

Gas prices are down 1.3% this year in Poteau, and 16.4% year over year. Neither is a monumental drop, given Poteau’s already low gas prices (year over year, gas is down about 50 cents per gallon), but it’s enough to rank Poteau among the five lowest gas prices in the country.

3. Little Rock, Arkansas ($2.33)

Much of the gas refined for the Midwest comes from Oklahoma, Arkansas’s neighbor. Little Rock also sits near the main ONEOK & Magellan pipelines, which stretch from the Gulf Coast up toward Chicago and through the upper Midwest. 

In Arkansas’s capital city, gas has dropped 17.7% year over year, down from $2.83 per gallon in February 2025. This year alone, gas in Little Rock is down 1.1%, a slight but noticeable dip from the holiday season, when travel is robust, and gas prices are high. 

2. Des Moines, Iowa ($2.39)

One of the two capital cities on this list, Des Moines, is similarly well-positioned for success in gas pricing. It’s settled along the primary pipeline and is one of the “Group 3” states negotiating gas pricing for the Midwest. Central pipelines thread through Iowa, and its proximity to major refineries makes delivery advantageous.

Since February 2025, gas prices in Des Moines have dipped 19.5%, down from $2.97 per gallon. In 2026, gas prices have dropped 2.8% – the highest 2026 drop on our list by a wide margin. 

In this Aug. 12, 2013 photo, a tree grows through the bumper of a 1962 Ford Falcon at a field near the former Lambrecht Chevrolet car dealership in Pierce, Neb. Next month, bidders from at least a dozen countries and all 50 U.S. states will converge on Pierce, a town of about 1,800 in northeast Nebraska, for a two-day auction that will feature about 500 old cars and trucks, mostly Chevrolets that went unsold during the dealership?s five decades in business. About 50 have fewer than 20 miles on the odometer, and some are so rare that no one has established a price. The most valuable could fetch six-figure bids. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Associated Press

1. Norfolk, Nebraska ($2.28)

A touch north of Omaha and Lincoln, and well west of Des Moines, lies Norfolk. Nebraska’s eighth-most populous city is a surprise winner for the lowest gas price in the United States, but it’s a sensible choice for inclusion on this list. Like the rest, it’s well-positioned on major pipeline and trucking routes, has refineries within a reasonable distance, and Nebraska is a “Group 3” member state. 

This year, gas in Norfolk has been relatively staid, dipping only 0.4% in 2026. The reasons it tops this list are that Norfolk has the lowest per-gallon gas price and has the most dramatic year-over-year decline. In February 2025, gas in Norfolk was $3.35 per gallon, meaning its current price ($2.28) is a staggering 31.9% lower than this time last year.