What Is a PADD RegionA PADD region, short for Petroleum Administration for Defense District, is one of five geographic zones the US government uses to track and report petroleum supply, refining, and pricing data. Created during World War II to manage fuel distribution, the five PADD regions are still used today by the Energy Information Administration to organize gas price and inventory reporting.The Five PADD RegionsPADD 1 covers the East Coast, PADD 2 covers the Midwest, PADD 3 covers the Gulf Coast, PADD 4 covers the Rocky Mountain states, and PADD 5 covers the West Coast along with Alaska and Hawaii. Each region has a different mix of refineries, pipelines, and import access, which is exactly why the same week can produce noticeably different gas prices from one PADD to another.Why the System Has Lasted More Than 80 YearsThe PADD boundaries were drawn in 1942 to coordinate wartime fuel allocation, well before today's pipeline network and refining capacity existed.
Even though the original wartime purpose disappeared decades ago, the boundaries stuck because they still roughly match how fuel actually moves through the country today, refineries, pipelines, and storage terminals built around those original regions, which is why the EIA never had a strong reason to redraw them.Why PADD Regions Affect What You Pay at the PumpPADD 3, the Gulf Coast, holds the largest concentration of US refining capacity, which generally keeps prices lower there and in the pipeline connected regions nearby. PADD 5, the West Coast, has comparatively limited pipeline connections to the rest of the country and its own stricter fuel blend requirements, which is a major reason it tends to post some of the highest average prices in the country. You can see this play out directly on the Gas Prices by State page, where neighboring states in different PADD regions can show a noticeable price gap.Want to see where your state ranks right now?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which PADD region typically has the cheapest gas?
PADD 3, the Gulf Coast, generally has some of the lowest average prices, thanks to its concentration of refineries and easy pipeline access to other regions.
Does my state's PADD region matter during a refinery outage?
Yes. An unplanned outage at a major refinery can push prices up sharply across its entire PADD region, even in states that were not directly affected by the outage itself.
Why does the West Coast usually have higher prices?
PADD 5 has fewer pipeline connections to other refining regions and its own stricter fuel blend rules in several states, both of which tend to push prices higher than the national average.
Is PADD level pricing data publicly available?
Yes. The Energy Information Administration publishes PADD level price and inventory data on a regular schedule, and that data underlies most state and regional gas price reporting, including the figures shown on this site.