Where a Gallon of Gas Now Costs More Than the Federal Minimum Wage

Leah Barkoukis | June 02, 2022 8:00 AM

Americans across the country are dealing with record-breaking gas prices, but pain at the pump has been particularly bad in California, where gas now costs as much as the federal minimum wage in some places.

According to GasBuddy, there are 15 stations where gas costs more than $7.25

Furnace Creek Fuel at CA-190 in Furnace Creek: $8.55 a gallon
Chevron at 31251 Goffs Road in Essex: $8.29 a gallon
Chevron at 901 N. Alameda St. in Los Angeles: $7.95 a gallon
Chevron at 30811 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu: $7.79 a gallon
Fort Dick Market at 6670 Lake Earl Dr. in Crescent City: $7.70 a gallon
Roy's Gas at 87520 in Amboy: $7.69 a gallon
Mobil at 8489 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles: $7.49 a gallon
Shell at 900 North Hill Street in Los Angeles: $7.45 a gallon
Chevron at 51557 US-395 in Lee Vining: $7.39 a gallon
Shell at 453 Main St. in Bridgeport: $7.39 a gallon
Valero at 377 Main St. in Bridgeport: $7.35 a gallon
Shell at 125 Sharon Park Dr. in Menlo Park: $7.29 a gallon
Mobil at 4349 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in Studio City: $7.29 a gallon
Shell at 51424 US-395 in Lee Vining: $7.29 a gallon
Mobil at 22 Vista Point Dr. in Lee Vining: $7.29 a gallon (CBS News)

As CBS points out, the minimum wage in California is much higher than the federal level, with workers earning at least $14 per hour, but the significant cost of fuel is nevertheless making quite the dent in their earnings.

The reason gas is so much more expensive in California is "partly due to higher taxes in the state to pay for infrastructure and other costs," CBS reports, "but there's also something that economist Severin Borenstein of the University of California, Berkeley, calls a "mystery gasoline surcharge" — a price gap that can't entirely be explained by fees or other factors."