Ohio took 38.5 cents off the state gas tax. The pump went the other way. Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 519 on October 1, 2026. The holiday took effect at 12:01 a.m. on October 4 and runs through January 2, 2027: gasoline from 38.5¢/gal to $0.0001, diesel from 47¢ to $0.0001, with a $725 million transfer to backfill road money and a mandatory pass-through to drivers.

The day before that signing — September 30 — AAA had Ohio regular at $4.24/gal. Today, October 24, Ohio is $4.42. That is up about 19 cents in three weeks, not down 38.5. If the old tax were still sitting on today’s sticker, the implied price would be about $4.81.

Nationally, the same window went the other direction. AAA regular was $4.43 on Sep 30, $4.41 on Oct 1, and $4.30 today. The country eased. Ohio did not.

Full tables: Gas Prices by State, ranked list, and Gas Prices Since Iran.

Three snapshots, seven weeks late

We last ran a full 50-state AAA table on Labor Day weekend (Sep 4, ~$4.15 nationally). AAA’s public site is live-only, so the missing weeks come from archived daily tables. The three prints that matter for this story:

  • September 30: $4.43 national / Ohio $4.24 — day before DeWine signed; the legislature had already passed the bill that day
  • October 1: $4.41 national / Ohio $4.20 — signing day; holiday not yet in effect
  • October 24 (today): $4.30 national / Ohio $4.42

From January (~$3.06) to today, the U.S. average is still up about $1.24, or 41%. The high print in this conflict window remains $4.46 on May 27. Labor Day’s $4.15 was not a peak. Late September got closer.

A typical 15-gallon fill-up that cost about $46 in January is about $64 today. In Ohio it is about $66 — and would be closer to $72 if the 38.5¢ tax were still on the pump.

Why a 38.5¢ holiday can vanish

Retailers are required to pass the tax cut through. That does not freeze the pre-tax price. Crude, wholesale gasoline, and regional supply can rise by more than the tax that just came off. Ohio’s sticker is 19¢ above the day before the signing even after ~38.5¢ of tax disappeared — the underlying price moved more than the holiday.

Diesel in Ohio tells a milder version of the same story. AAA diesel there was $6.68 on Sep 30 and $6.40 today — down about 28 cents against a 47-cent diesel tax holiday. Some of the cut shows up. Not all of it.

The rest of the map

State regular averages on October 24 still span more than $2.50/gal:

  • Most expensive: California (~$6.03), Hawaii (~$5.66), Washington (~$5.31)
  • Cheapest: North Carolina (~$3.51), Georgia (~$3.67), Texas (~$3.73)

Even the cheapest state is still well above January. North Carolina’s $3.51 is about 22% above its January $2.88.

Diesel is the bigger number

National diesel is $6.34/gal today — off the all-time AAA high of $6.53 on September 22, and far above the Labor Day print we published at $5.85. California diesel is above $8.46. Year-ago national diesel was about $3.64. Freight, groceries, and construction still run on that spread. See Diesel Prices by State Ranked and the diesel map.

Sources: AAA Fuel Prices (national regular $4.2957, diesel $6.3374 as of Oct 24, 2026; state averages same day); archived AAA Daily Fuel Gauge state tables for Sep 30 ($4.4343 / Ohio $4.2363) and Oct 1 ($4.4137 / Ohio $4.1986); Ohio Governor, Oct. 1, 2026 (HB 519 signing); Ohio Department of Taxation, Oct. 2, 2026 (38.5¢ gasoline / 47¢ diesel holiday Oct 4–Jan 2, 2027; $725 million offset; mandatory pass-through). Related: Labor Day gas record, Gas Prices Since Iran.