Diesel prices from
California to Illinois.
The most direct path from California to Illinois crosses 7 states (Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri in between). The cheapest median on the lane is $5.70/gal in Kansas; the most expensive is $7.86/gal in California.
Data window: last 7 days · 2,091 observations · 1,214 truck stops on the lane
Where to fill
Outbound, fuel in Kansas. Coming back, same state.
California to Illinois: Kansas is state 5 of 7 on the path and carries the lowest median. Illinois back to California: it is state 3 of 7, so the fill lands earlier in the run. Either way, a 250-gallon fill in Kansas runs about $540 less than the same fill in California.
The state tells you where the price is; it does not tell you which exit, how many gallons the tank needs to reach it, or whether the IFTA math flips the answer. That is the per-dispatch work ValveRide Flow does automatically, with your contract rates on top of the posted price.
State by state
Every state on the California to Illinois path
States in order from California. Cheap and expensive are the 10th and 90th percentile of tracked stations in each state; spread is the gap between them.
| # | State | Cheap (p10) | Median | Expensive (p90) | Spread | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CaliforniaCA | $7.50 | $7.86 | $8.10 | $0.60 | 270 |
| 2 | NevadaNV | $5.86 | $6.31 | $6.80 | $0.94 | 81 |
| 3 | UtahUT | $5.48 | $6.00 | $6.16 | $0.68 | 102 |
| 4 | ColoradoCO | $5.30 | $5.76 | $6.00 | $0.70 | 96 |
| 5 | KansasKScheapest median | $5.30 | $5.70 | $6.10 | $0.80 | 117 |
| 6 | MissouriMO | $5.50 | $5.89 | $6.16 | $0.66 | 208 |
| 7 | IllinoisIL | $5.80 | $6.10 | $6.30 | $0.50 | 340 |
The state sequence is the most direct land-border path between California and Illinois by geography, not a routed itinerary; a dispatched route can clip a neighboring state this list skips.
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Questions, answered
California to Illinois diesel prices, explained.
Where is diesel cheapest between California and Illinois?
Of the 7 states on the most direct California to Illinois path, Kansas has the lowest median diesel price at $5.70 per gallon across 117 tracked truck stops. The cheapest individual stations on the lane are in Colorado, where the cheapest 10% post $5.30 or less.
Is diesel cheaper in California or Illinois?
Illinois is cheaper: median $6.10 versus $7.86 in California, a $1.76/gal difference at the median.
How much can a truck save on the California to Illinois lane?
The median-to-median gap between the cheapest state on the lane (Kansas, $5.70) and the most expensive (California, $7.86) is $2.16 per gallon. On a 250-gallon fill that is about $540 on one truck, before contract discounts and IFTA tax positioning, which is what ValveRide Flow layers on automatically for fleets.
Prices are pump-posted retail percentiles from tracked truck stops in the 48 contiguous states, never contract or discounted rates. Methodology and the full state table live on the national diesel prices page.
Related lanes
Other lanes out of California and Illinois
All 42 lanes: diesel prices by lane. Interstate view: diesel prices by corridor.
You run California to Illinois.
Flow makes every fill count.
Live prices, your negotiated contracts, and state fuel-tax math, applied automatically on every dispatch, with every claimed dollar reconciled against a real transaction.