Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Chicago

Gas Price Relief for Chicago Drivers

The City of Chicago is notorious for high gasoline prices relative to the rest of the Nation. The population density, 1,000-mile distance from Gulf of Mexico oil refineries, and hefty gas taxes converge to destroy our wallets at the pump. In fact, the state of Illinois imposes a 58-cent per gallon tax, which is the fourth highest in the U.S., after California, New York, and Connecticut. Additionally, motorists must also tack on a 6.25% sales tax upon all fuel purchases.

Of course, Chicagoans remain responsible for the 12.75 cent per gallon tax on top of the aforementioned charges. These rates do include Federal excise taxes of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline, which jump to 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. Chicago frequently posts the highest gas prices in the United States.

In other words, never purchase gasoline in the City of Chicago, if possible.

"If possible," is indeed, a loose contingency, dependent upon one's location, fuel tank levels, and the prevailing spread of area gas stations. For example, it would be penny wise and pound foolish to drive to the state of Indiana to buy 2 gallons of regular 87-octane gasoline. Desperately driving throughout the extensive Chicagoland area simply to save a few cents per gallon on the fill up would be sheer madness.

For example, the West Loop Shell at 1001 West Jackson Boulevard is posting $3.08 per regular at the time of this writing and the BP at 31^st and S. Michigan is charging $2.82. This is a savings of $3.90 for a 15-gallon tank.

Do you really want to high tail across town to save four bucks?

The purpose of this guide is to identify the areas and gas stations that typically feature the lowest prices. Chicagoans will make it a point to stop at these locations to fill up, while locals are already en route to the particular area, rather than altering plans and dropping everything to save $2.

We will begin by presenting specific neighborhoods where one should not buy gas and list viable alternatives to those particular locales.

Where NOT to buy gas in Chicago