Statewide average updated daily • Source: AAA
Nebraska gas prices typically run near the national average with a slight tendency to run modestly below it, particularly in the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas where retail competition is strong. The state occupies a solid middle position in the national fuel market — moderate taxes, decent pipeline access, and a competitive enough retail environment in its population centers to keep prices reasonable. Nebraska’s vast rural expanses present the familiar Plains state challenge of long delivery distances that push prices higher in remote areas.
Nebraska’s state gas tax is approximately 33 cents per gallon, near the national median. The state uses a variable rate mechanism that adjusts periodically based on fuel prices, meaning the effective rate is not fully fixed year to year.
Nebraska is served by the Magellan pipeline system and other Midwest pipeline connections that supply fuel from Gulf Coast and Midwest refinery sources. Omaha on the eastern border benefits from proximity to the Kansas City fuel distribution infrastructure and has a competitive retail market driven by its status as the largest city in the state.
Lincoln also has a competitive market, and the I-80 corridor running across Nebraska east to west is one of the most important long-haul trucking routes in the country — the concentration of truck stops and travel centers competing for commercial fuel business along I-80 helps keep prices competitive along that corridor. Western Nebraska becomes progressively more expensive as distance from Omaha terminals increases.
Did you know? Nebraska’s I-80 corridor carries a significant percentage of all goods shipped by truck between the East and West Coasts, making the state’s fuel infrastructure critically important to national supply chains. Nebraska is the only state in the country with a unicameral legislature — a single-chamber lawmaking body — which has historically made fuel tax changes somewhat simpler to pass or block. Nebraska is one of the top ethanol producing states in the country, with dozens of corn ethanol plants that blend local ethanol into gasoline sold throughout the Great Plains region.
Compare today’s average in Nebraska 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.