Statewide average updated daily • Source: AAA
Montana gas prices typically run modestly above the national average, with significant variation across the state’s vast geography. Big Sky Country presents one of the most extreme cases of rural price variation in the country — prices in Billings and Missoula can run reasonably close to national averages while isolated communities in eastern Montana, Glacier National Park gateway towns, and remote ranching communities can run dramatically higher due to the extreme delivery distances involved. Montana is the fourth largest state by area but one of the least densely populated, creating fuel logistics challenges unlike almost anywhere else in the continental United States.
Montana’s state gas tax is approximately 33 cents per gallon, near the national median. The state has a relatively straightforward flat-rate structure.
Montana has a meaningful refining presence in the Billings area — CHS Laurel Refinery and the ExxonMobil Billings Refinery both operate in the Billings corridor, making it one of the most important refining locations in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains region. This local refining capacity provides good supply access in central Montana and distributes fuel to Wyoming, Idaho, and the Dakotas as well.
Away from Billings, however, Montana’s geography becomes a significant cost factor. The distances between communities are extreme — eastern Montana in particular has towns separated by 50 to 100 miles with nothing in between, and the cost of delivering fuel by tanker truck to these communities is reflected in prices that can run 50 cents or more above Billings.
Did you know? Billings, Montana is home to two oil refineries that serve as the primary fuel supply source for a vast region covering Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and parts of Idaho — making this mid-sized city of 120,000 people one of the most important fuel distribution centers in the entire Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain region. Montana has more miles of road per capita than almost any other state as a consequence of its enormous size and sparse population. The gateway communities to Glacier National Park — Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and St. Mary — consistently have some of the highest gas prices in the state due to captive tourist demand and remote supply logistics.
Compare today’s average in Montana 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.