Between high gas prices, steady inflation and the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic, America’s driving habits are changing. Our team of analysts found that 66% of people changed their driving habits to spend less on fuel. We also found that gasoline consumption was down 4% in the first part of 2022.
Key findings:
- 48% of people canceled trips because of gas prices
- Gas usage has declined by as much as 19% in some states
- Montana, Wyoming and Rhode Island are the most gas guzzling states
- Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts use the least gas
How Gas Prices Have Changed Driving Behavior
Whether it’s canceling trips, carpooling or using public transit, high gas prices have fueled significant changes in people’s driving habits. Nationwide 48% of people canceled trips, 33% of drivers started carpooling or combining trips and 12% of people are increasingly relying on public transit.
These changes in driving habits, however, vary significantly from state to state. In Mississippi, 61% of drivers decided to cancel trips compared to 36% in Rhode Island. Almost half of Oregon's drivers decided to carpool or combine trips to save money. And nearly 20% of people in both Washington and Hawaii switched to public transportation to get around.
| State | Canceled trips | Combined trips or carpooled | Used public transit | Made no changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 46% | 34% | 3% | 36% |
| Alaska | 48% | 44% | 13% | 32% |
| Arizona | 54% | 37% | 10% | 30% |
| Arkansas | 60% | 31% | 7% | 28% |
| California | 58% | 36% | 16% | 27% |
| Colorado | 44% | 36% | 16% | 36% |
| Connecticut | 43% | 32% | 9% | 38% |
| Delaware | 44% | 39% | 10% | 34% |
| Florida | 49% | 34% | 11% | 33% |
| Georgia | 51% | 33% | 11% | 32% |
| Hawaii | 43% | 38% | 17% | 31% |
| Idaho | 53% | 43% | 14% | 27% |
| Illinois | 42% | 33% | 18% | 38% |
| Indiana | 54% | 38% | 10% | 30% |
| Iowa | 46% | 32% | 12% | 36% |
| Kansas | 51% | 35% | 9% | 32% |
| Kentucky | 55% | 38% | 7% | 27% |
| Louisiana | 55% | 27% | 7% | 33% |
| Maine | 49% | 37% | 8% | 34% |
| Maryland | 43% | 29% | 11% | 42% |
| Massachusetts | 37% | 25% | 14% | 44% |
| Michigan | 50% | 36% | 10% | 33% |
| Minnesota | 39% | 29% | 9% | 44% |
| Mississippi | 61% | 30% | 15% | 25% |
| Missouri | 53% | 31% | 10% | 35% |
| Montana | 51% | 33% | 10% | 35% |
| Nebraska | 48% | 31% | 8% | 35% |
| Nevada | 56% | 38% | 9% | 24% |
| New Hampshire | 43% | 33% | 6% | 41% |
| New Jersey | 42% | 22% | 14% | 41% |
| New Mexico | 56% | 32% | 13% | 28% |
| New York | 37% | 28% | 13% | 40% |
| North Carolina | 49% | 38% | 9% | 35% |
| North Dakota | 48% | 32% | 9% | 35% |
| Ohio | 46% | 39% | 12% | 35% |
| Oklahoma | 55% | 38% | 5% | 30% |
| Oregon | 52% | 46% | 15% | 26% |
| Pennsylvania | 44% | 33% | 10% | 35% |
| Rhode Island | 36% | 31% | 6% | 42% |
| South Carolina | 46% | 34% | 11% | 36% |
| South Dakota | 39% | 27% | 6% | 43% |
| Tennessee | 51% | 34% | 8% | 32% |
| Texas | 51% | 27% | 12% | 34% |
| Utah | 53% | 44% | 16% | 26% |
| Vermont | 40% | 35% | 12% | 39% |
| Virginia | 40% | 28% | 8% | 45% |
| Washington | 47% | 38% | 17% | 32% |
| West Virginia | 50% | 36% | 9% | 29% |
| Wisconsin | 45% | 32% | 9% | 39% |
| Wyoming | 49% | 39% | 8% | 29% |
| United States | 48% | 33% | 12% | 34% |
Gasoline consumption by state
The change in driving habits has led to a decrease in fuel consumption. Drivers are now using 10,500,000 fewer gallons of gas daily than in 2021. That’s enough fuel to drive around the Earth 11,000 times.
Some states, though, are really gasoline demand has fallen by nearly 20% in Vermont and Minnesota and by nearly 10% in 12 other states. South Dakota is the only state using significantly more gas.
| State | Daily gallons - October 2021 | Daily gallons - currently | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6,824,000 | 6,994,000 | 3% |
| Alaska | 609,000 | 570,000 | -6% |
| Arizona | 8,143,000 | 7,963,000 | -2% |
| Arkansas | 3,983,000 | 3,464,000 | -13% |
| California | 33,266,000 | 32,594,000 | -2% |
| Colorado | 6,342,000 | 6,040,000 | -5% |
| Connecticut | 3,877,000 | 3,497,000 | -10% |
| Delaware | 1,433,000 | 1,378,000 | -4% |
| Florida | 20,805,000 | 22,122,000 | 6% |
| Georgia | 13,874,000 | 13,779,000 | -1% |
| Hawaii | 1,260,000 | 1,234,000 | -2% |
| Idaho | 2,113,000 | 2,097,000 | -1% |
| Illinois | 10,792,000 | 10,870,000 | 1% |
| Indiana | 8,279,000 | 8,078,000 | -2% |
| Iowa | 3,571,000 | 3,306,000 | -7% |
| Kansas | 4,426,000 | 4,175,000 | -6% |
| Kentucky | 5,502,000 | 5,659,000 | 3% |
| Louisiana | 7,235,000 | 7,090,000 | -2% |
| Maine | 1,845,000 | 1,640,000 | -11% |
| Maryland | 5,042,000 | 4,976,000 | -1% |
| Massachusetts | 6,085,000 | 5,746,000 | -6% |
| Michigan | 11,954,000 | 11,169,000 | -7% |
| Minnesota | 6,183,000 | 5,267,000 | -15% |
| Mississippi | 3,914,000 | 3,930,000 | 0% |
| Missouri | 8,204,000 | 7,782,000 | -5% |
| Montana | 2,060,000 | 1,911 | -7% |
| Nebraska | 2,259,000 | 2,156 | -5% |
| Nevada | 3,044,000 | 3,016 | -1% |
| New Hampshire | 1,534,000 | 1,329,000 | -13% |
| New Jersey | 9,565,000 | 9,152,000 | -4% |
| New Mexico | 2,633,000 | 2,658,000 | 1% |
| New York | 14,453,000 | 13,464,000 | -7% |
| North Carolina | 12,435,000 | 11,782,000 | -5% |
| North Dakota | 968,000 | 1,278,000 | 32% |
| Ohio | 13,041,000 | 12,575,000 | -4% |
| Oklahoma | 5,537,000 | 5,389,000 | -3% |
| Oregon | 4,099,000 | 3,741,000 | -9% |
| Pennsylvania | 9,389,000 | 8,535,000 | -9% |
| Rhode Island | 1,594,000 | 1,479,000 | -7% |
| South Carolina | 6,906,000 | 6,619,000 | -4% |
| South Dakota | 1,236,000 | 1,169,000 | -5% |
| Tennessee | 8,958,000 | 9,139,000 | 2% |
| Texas | 39,991,000 | 39,646,000 | -1% |
| Utah | 3,893,000 | 3,748,000 | -4% |
| Vermont | 765,000 | 620,000 | -19% |
| Virginia | 8,773,000 | 7,902.900 | -4% |
| Washington | 7,882,000 | 6,740,500 | -5% |
| West Virginia | 1,874,000 | 1,600,200 | -6% |
| Wisconsin | 6,399,000 | 6,038,500 | -6% |
| Wyoming | 973,000 | 842,600 | -11% |
Despite the change in fuel usage, drivers are still burning through gas. More than 62 billion gallons of gas has been pumped into cars in the last six months. To find which state uses the most gas, our analysts compared both the number of gallons used per person and the number of gallons used per driver in each state.
We found that Montana, Rhode Island and Wyoming use the most gas, while Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts use the least. Overall, less populated but geographically larger states tended to use the most gasoline per capita.
| Rank | State | Gallons per driver | Gallons per person | Total gallons used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 411 | 314 | 340,106,000 |
| 2 | Wyoming | 363 | 269 | 154,924,000 |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 384 | 256 | 281,032,000 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 376 | 276 | 1,284,822,001 |
| 5 | Kansas | 380 | 259 | 761,603,000 |
| 6 | Texas | 398 | 241 | 7,035,088,001 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 375 | 241 | 955,302,001 |
| 8 | Mississippi | 348 | 237 | 702,016,000 |
| 9 | North Dakota | 340 | 235 | 183,465,000 |
| 10 | Alabama | 303 | 244 | 1,224,483,001 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 332 | 234 | 1,619,739,000 |
| 12 | South Dakota | 324 | 241 | 213,382,001 |
| 13 | Delaware | 295 | 247 | 244,750,001 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 337 | 217 | 979,050,001 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 311 | 222 | 669,147,000 |
| 16 | Maine | 296 | 227 | 309,824,001 |
| 17 | Missouri | 329 | 228 | 1,402,910,001 |
| 18 | Utah | 318 | 209 | 682,791,000 |
| 19 | Georgia | 327 | 230 | 2,459,062,001 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 304 | 232 | 1,187,034,000 |
| 21 | Indiana | 320 | 214 | 1,450,415,001 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 313 | 218 | 461,825,000 |
| 23 | Michigan | 296 | 206 | 2,080,715,000 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 277 | 203 | 398,273,001 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 281 | 206 | 2,147,760,001 |
| 26 | Idaho | 290 | 203 | 373,285,000 |
| 27 | Ohio | 282 | 193 | 2,281,609,001 |
| 28 | Iowa | 275 | 195 | 623,143,001 |
| 29 | West Virginia | 273 | 168 | 300,791,000 |
| 30 | New Jersey | 266 | 179 | 1,658,645,000 |
| 31 | Arizona | 253 | 201 | 1,439,055,001 |
| 32 | New Hampshire | 242 | 187 | 257,087,000 |
| 33 | Colorado | 255 | 190 | 1,095,413,000 |
| 34 | Vermont | 262 | 188 | 120,845,000 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 261 | 191 | 1,125,594,000 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 258 | 185 | 1,056,516,000 |
| 37 | Florida | 240 | 175 | 3,773,121,000 |
| 38 | Nevada | 266 | 176 | 547,383,000 |
| 39 | Connecticut | 266 | 185 | 666,715,000 |
| 40 | Virginia | 243 | 166 | 1,435,152,000 |
| 41 | Oregon | 235 | 163 | 692,601,000 |
| 42 | Hawaii | 240 | 152 | 221,297,000 |
| 43 | Illinois | 237 | 152 | 1,948,237,000 |
| 44 | Alaska | 213 | 151 | 110,617,000 |
| 45 | Washington | 213 | 160 | 1,236,247,000 |
| 46 | Maryland | 198 | 143 | 882,633,000 |
| 47 | California | 218 | 149 | 5,876,671,000 |
| 48 | Pennsylvania | 181 | 124 | 1,614,604,000 |
| 49 | New York | 205 | 124 | 2,503,319,000 |
| 50 | Massachusetts | 215 | 151 | 1,060,447,000 |
| Gallons used between October 2021 and March 2022 | ||||
Methodology
QuoteWizard analyzed Federal Highway Administration and United States Energy Information Administration data to compare motor-fuel use with licensed drivers and population in each state from 2019 to 2022. We took the total gallons of gas used in each state and divided that figure by the total number of licensed drivers and people in each state.
Final rankings are a composite score based on total gallons of gas per licensed driver and gallons of gas per person in each state in 2021 and 2022. States with the highest gallons per capita and driver are considered to be the most gas-guzzling states.
To determine changes in driving habits in each state, QuoteWizard used data from the United States Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
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