U.S. State Fuel Octane Standards
Most states do not mandate certain standard gasoline grade octane ratings. In the United States and Canada, octane ratings are in AKI, commonly shown as "(R+M)/2". All states require gas pump to be labeled with the correct octane level and nearly all states do regular testing to make sure gas stations are in compliance. A minimum 87 octane fuel is recommend for most vehicles produced since 1984. Older cars with carburetors could operate with lower octane fuel at higher elevations. Regardless of legality fuel with an octane rating of less than 87 is GeneRally not offered for sale in most states. However 85 and 86 octane gasoline can still commonly be found in several rocky mountain states.
State Octane Ratings
The octane ratings below are the standard (and lower, if applicable) octane ratings available for each grade of fuel. Ethanol's effect on octane is not considered--these are ratings that are seen at the pump.
State |
Regular Unleaded |
Mid-Grade Unleaded |
Premium Unleaded |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama |
||||
Alaska |
87 |
88.5 |
90 |
|
Arizona |
||||
Arkansas |
||||
California |
||||
Colorado |
||||
Connecticut |
87 |
89 |
91 |
86 octane May Be sold if labeled as economy |
Delaware |
||||
Florida |
87 |
89 |
91 |
|
Georgia |
87 |
N/A |
91 |
|
Hawaii |
||||
Idaho |
||||
Illinois |
87 |
89 |
91 |
|
Indiana |
||||
Iowa |
||||
Kansas |
||||
Kentucky |
86 |
89 |
91 |
|
Louisiana |
||||
Maine |
||||
Maryland |
||||
Massachusetts |
||||
Michigan |
87 |
88 |
90 |
85 and 86 octane may be sold if labeled as subregular |
Minnesota |
<88 |
88 |
91 |
|
Mississippi |
||||
Missouri |
||||
Montana |
85.5 |
|||
Nebraska |
||||
Nevada |
||||
New Hampshire |
||||
New Jersey |
87 |
89 |
91 |
New Jersey checks for fraudulent labeling of octane ratings. |
New Mexico |
||||
New York |
87 |
|||
North Carolina |
||||
North DAKOTA |
87 |
89 |
91 |
|
Ohio |
||||
Oklahoma |
||||
Oregon |
||||
Pennsylvania |
||||
Rhode Island |
||||
South Carolina |
87 |
N/A |
91 |
lower octane gas can be sold if labeled as "sub-standard" or "sub-regular" |
South Dakota |
87 |
89 |
91 |
85 or 86 octane can be sold as "sub-regular" with a warning label displayed at the pump and is found is western parts of the state |
Tennessee |
||||
Texas |
||||
Utah |
||||
Vermont |
||||
Virginia |
||||
Washington |
||||
West Virginia |
||||
Wisconsin |
87 |
89 |
91 |
Some pumps are showing 15% Ethanol for 89 octane Mid Grade |
Wyoming |