Despite a drop of 18 cents per gallon over the past week, California continues to lead the country in high gas prices.
The state's average per-gallon price on Tuesday was $5.58 per gallon, according to AAA. While that's a lot less expensive than last week's price of $5.76 per gallon, it's still a full $2 higher than the national average of $3.58, per AAA.
The bad news for Californians is the gap isn't likely to be narrowed anytime soon.
So, why are California's gas prices so much higher than the rest of the country?
California pumps out the highest state gas tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon, according to the Tax Foundation. On top of that, California's local taxes make up about 13% of the price of a gallon of gas.
Plus, the state uses a special blend that's more environmentally-friendly but also more expensive. The gas, established to address smog issues, has additives that lead to less vapor emissions, which ultimately makes the gas pricier, according to Energy In Focus.
And finally, recent maintenance-related shutdowns of the state's 14 oil refineries have driven up gas prices.
California's transportation fuels market is isolated, meaning that gasoline purchased in California is also refined in the state. Oil refineries and fuel distribution centers are isolated by time and distance from alternative sources to resupply during unplanned refinery outages. Price spikes can last longer for Californians because costs are higher, and the resupply time is longer, according to the California Energy Commission.
Because more than 90% of the gasoline consumed in California comes from in-state refineries, significant unplanned refinery outages also contribute to increases in the price at the pump, the commission added.