Diesel costs 12 minutes of work per gallon, gas 8

Name: Minutes of work per gallon of US diesel and gasoline, monthly since 1994
Creator: Kadoa
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

Minutes of average US hourly pay to buy a gallon of diesel or regular gas. In September 2026 the two were 3.6 minutes apart, the widest gap on record.

Minutes of work per gallon

Month	Diesel, minutes	Gas, minutes	Diesel price	Gas price	Hourly pay
September 2026	11.6	8.0	$6.29	$4.36	$32.60
August 2026	10.1	7.5	$5.46	$4.06	$32.53
July 2026	9.2	7.3	$4.96	$3.93	$32.42
June 2026	9.3	7.5	$5.02	$4.05	$32.38
May 2026	10.4	8.3	$5.60	$4.48	$32.31
April 2026	10.2	7.6	$5.50	$4.10	$32.23
March 2026	9.2	6.8	$4.92	$3.64	$32.12
February 2026	7.0	5.4	$3.72	$2.91	$32.04
January 2026	6.6	5.3	$3.52	$2.81	$31.94
December 2025	6.8	5.5	$3.62	$2.89	$31.83
November 2025	7.2	5.8	$3.82	$3.05	$31.79
October 2025	7.0	5.8	$3.68	$3.06	$31.70
September 2025	7.1	6.0	$3.75	$3.17	$31.56
August 2025	7.1	6.0	$3.74	$3.13	$31.49
July 2025	7.2	6.0	$3.78	$3.13	$31.39
June 2025	6.9	6.0	$3.60	$3.15	$31.31
May 2025	6.7	6.1	$3.50	$3.15	$31.20
April 2025	6.9	6.1	$3.57	$3.17	$31.09
March 2025	6.9	6.0	$3.58	$3.10	$31.02
February 2025	7.1	6.1	$3.67	$3.12	$30.89
January 2025	7.1	6.0	$3.63	$3.08	$30.79
December 2024	6.8	5.9	$3.49	$3.02	$30.66
November 2024	6.9	6.0	$3.52	$3.05	$30.56
October 2024	7.1	6.2	$3.58	$3.14	$30.48

Showing 24 of 390

Source: EIA, BLS pay of production and nonsupervisory workers. Diesel records start in 1994.