Where Your Gas Money Goes

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis reveals that the majority of money spent on gasoline in the U.S. flows to oil companies rather than local communities. For a typical $50 fill-up, $33 goes toward crude oil, with $20 benefiting private and publicly traded companies and $13 benefiting government-run entities. The report argues that individual shareholders receive negligible returns from their own gasoline expenditures; for example, a person with $1 million in a balanced portfolio would earn less than a penny in stock returns from spending $1,700 annually on gas from ExxonMobil. Conversely, investing in fuel-efficient vehicles, such as a hybrid Ford Fusion, can result in lifetime savings of over $5,000. On a national scale, UCS estimates that federal fuel economy standards for 2017-2025 could provide consumers $50 billion in net savings by 2030 and create between 484,000 and 570,000 jobs. The document concludes that reducing oil use is essential to mitigate global warming, as transportation accounts for more than one-third of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

• Of a typical $50 gasoline purchase, $33 is allocated to crude oil, with $20 going to private and publicly traded oil companies and $13 going to government-run oil companies.
• Gas stations provide minimal support to local businesses because they only averaged three to five cents of profit per gallon of gasoline sold over a five-year period.
• Switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle can lead to significant lifetime savings; for instance, a 2013 Ford Fusion SE Hybrid costs $8,800 less to fuel over its lifetime than a conventional Fusion SE, resulting in a net savings of over $5,000 despite a $3,500 higher upfront cost.
• Federal fuel economy standards for new passenger vehicles sold between 2017 and 2025 are projected to save consumers $50 billion by 2030 and create between 484,000 and 570,000 jobs.
• Transportation is a primary driver of climate change in the U.S., accounting for more than one-third of all carbon dioxide emissions.
• The Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards finalized in August 2012 aim to reduce average emissions of new passenger cars and light trucks to 163 grams per mile by model year 2025.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (n.d.). Where Your Gas Money Goes. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Where-Your-Gas-Money-Goes.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Where Your Gas Money Goes. n.d. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Where-Your-Gas-Money-Goes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Where Your Gas Money Goes |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Where-Your-Gas-Money-Goes.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientistsndwhere, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Where Your Gas Money Goes}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Where-Your-Gas-Money-Goes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }