How Native American Reservations Are Helping Americans Save on Gas Prices

An AP Newsreport found a few Americans are saving money on gas in a creative new way: by visiting Native American reservations. Exempt from gas taxes, stations on "the rez" are cheaper than those even just 30 minutes away. At the Tulalip Market on the Tulalip reservation in Washington, gas is $4.84 per gallon, less than what Junelle Lewis is paying just 30 minutes away in the Seattle metro area.

"I purposely drove here just for the gas," she said. For some, it's a long way to go for gas, but in states like California, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington state, there are dozens of tribally owned fuel stations exempt from state fuel taxes. Gas prices have skyrocketed since American missiles fell on Iran, sending the national average to $4.15 per gallon as of publication. At the Chukchansi Crossing Fuel Station & Travel Center near Yosemite National Park, gas is 60 cents less than at nearby stations. In New Mexico and New York, two fuel stations fall as low as $3.79 and $3.65 per gallon, respectively.

Ordinarily, tribes pay a federal fuel tax - 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.3 cents per gallon of diesel. Like many other stations, this gets figured into what tribal stations charge for gas. State tax exemptions mean the rest is down to the individual station. US law holds that states don't have the authority to collect taxes from Native Americans on their land. The precedent is one of the longest-standing in an otherwise long history of walkbacks and violations of Native American sovereignty on reservations. "They're cheaper here than anywhere else," Todd Hall of Paden, Oklahoma, told AP News. He likes the "way the tribe operates," and says the Citizen Potawatomi Nation gas station saves him about $5 a week on gas.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 5:30 PM.