Statewide average updated daily • Source: AAA
Maine gas prices typically run above the national average, influenced by above-average taxes, distance from major refining centers, and the high cost of operating retail businesses in a northern state with harsh winters and a dispersed rural population. Maine is the most rural state east of the Mississippi River and the northeasternmost state in the country — its geographic position at the far end of the East Coast supply chain adds transportation cost that shows up at the pump. Portland and the southern coast tend to have the most competitive prices while Aroostook County in the far north and the western mountains run significantly higher.
Maine’s state gas tax is approximately 30 cents per gallon, above the national median. The state has a straightforward flat-rate structure.
Maine receives fuel primarily via marine shipments to Portland Harbor terminals and via pipeline connections from the broader Northeast distribution network. Portland’s deepwater port is a significant fuel import terminal that supplies Maine and distributes fuel throughout northern New England. However the further from Portland a community is the higher the transportation cost premium.
Aroostook County — the northernmost and largest county in Maine, bordering Canada — is one of the most remote fuel markets in the northeastern United States. Known as the County, Aroostook’s vast potato farming region depends heavily on diesel fuel for agricultural equipment and heating oil for harsh winters, with both products affected by the same remote supply economics that push retail gasoline prices well above southern Maine.
Did you know? Maine is the most forested state east of the Mississippi River — approximately 89 percent of the state is covered by forest — and the timber and paper industry has historically been the largest commercial diesel consumer in the state, operating massive logging trucks and equipment across an enormous rural landscape. Portland, Maine’s deepwater harbor is one of the most important petroleum import terminals in New England, receiving tanker shipments that supply not just Maine but distribute fuel throughout the region. Maine has more coastline than California despite being a fraction of the size, and the lobster fishing industry is a significant marine diesel consumer that makes fuel pricing a critical economic issue for fishing communities.
Compare today’s average in Maine with nearby states to understand regional price differences.
Learn more about what drives gas prices across the United States.
Crude oil prices are the biggest driver of what you pay at the pump. For U.S. and global crude oil production data updated from EIA figures, see Oil Production Live.