A new analysis reveals that Washington state offers the highest annual fuel savings for electric vehicle owners, at $2,346.
But a significant portion of that benefit is offset by higher insurance costs.
The study, conducted by Bloomberg, compared average driving distances with typical fuel and electricity prices across the United States.
Washington's combination of the third-highest gas prices in the country and some of the cheapest electricity—thanks to hydroelectric power—puts it at the top of the savings list.
Oregon follows closely, with estimated annual savings of $2,057.
Other Western states where fuel costs far exceed EV charging costs include Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Fuel Savings Drive EV Interest
According to a recent JD Power survey, roughly one-third of potential EV buyers cite fuel savings as their primary motivation.
The same survey found that 26% of car shoppers now consider themselves very likely to buy an EV, up three percentage points from a year earlier.
Rising gasoline prices, exacerbated by the conflict in Iran, have strengthened the case for electric vehicles.
While electricity prices have also increased—by 8.6% over the past year, partly due to demand from AI data centers—the surge at the pump remains far more pronounced.
Corey Cantor, research director at the Zero Emission Transportation Association, noted that buyers often overlook fuel costs because gas prices are visible everywhere, while electricity costs require calculation.
He said states with cheap electricity and expensive gas are where the EV transition is most likely to stick, driven by market forces.
The Insurance Catch
However, the fuel savings analysis does not account for insurance costs, where EVs tend to be more expensive.
A separate Insurify study found that in Washington, insuring a newer EV costs 30% more than a comparable gas model—$3,260 versus $2,515.
Oregon's gap is even wider at 36%, and Nevada's is 26%.
Nationally, the average EV costs $3,159 per year to insure, compared to $2,218 for a gasoline car—a 42% difference.
But when comparing only 2024-and-newer models, the gap narrows to 18%.
In some states, such as Montana and West Virginia, newer EVs are actually 4% cheaper to insure than their gas counterparts.
While insurance costs do not erase fuel savings entirely, they mean that the true cost of running an EV depends heavily on local insurance rates as well as the gap between gas and electricity prices.
