Leea Jankowski, a Santa Clarita Valley resident, said she has seen a $20 increase when filling up her Jeep Cherokee tank — calling it painful to witness.
People may be wondering why gas prices are getting higher.
“The recent spike is largely driven by a global oil shock tied to the war with Iran, not state policy. Nevertheless, the war increases a deeper vulnerability for California … As refinery capacity declines and reliance on imports grows, global disruptions can trigger higher prices in California than anywhere else,” according to an article published by CalMatters, a non-partisan news outlet.
“Drivers in California pay the highest taxes at the pump, equivalent to $0.90 per gallon (gal) between local, state and federal taxes as of March 2025. Federal taxes — which are the same for each state — account for $0.18 of the $0.90/gal in taxes. The other $0.72/gal is made up of state excise tax ($0.60/gal), state sales tax ($0.10/gal), and an underground storage tank fee ($0.02/gal). California’s state gasoline excise tax is the highest in the United States; the average across all states is $0.28/gal,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration website.
She was getting her gas at the Mobil gas station on Seco Canyon Road in Saugus with the gas prices hitting $5.69 per gallon for the regular unleaded, $5.89 per gallon for the extra, and $5.99 per gallon for the premium.
Jankowski said she has to overthink her decisions when she wants to go out and just do normal things due to gas being so high.
“Commuting less, trying to work remote more, preserving trips in between. Um, I would say just being more mindful with the things that I’m doing,” Jankowski said. “Do I really need to go to this place? Which is crazy. I never would have thought that way before. But, I mean, I guess the only upside is pollution will be down.”
She added that the high prices have not been fitting into her budget, but she “has to do what she has to do.”
“Quite honestly, I’m a little bit of an anxious person anyways, and driving a Jeep, I mean, I just put $2,200 into my Jeep. So, adding the expensive gas onto that is not fun,” she said. “Anxiety also kind of brings a little bit of depression. You know? (The) days are a little bit darker right now. Life and (the) future for my generation feels a little more bleak. It’s making me question a lot more things.”
Josh Labra, another SCV resident, echoed the same statement of life feeling bleak while he was filling his Nissan Sentra’s tank at the Arco gas station on Newhall Avenue.
“(It’s) pretty crazy. I mean, not that long ago; it only took me $10 for two gallons, and now it’s taking me about $12. I mean, it’s only $2, though. I mean that adds it up,” Labra said.
The gas at Arco was $6.09 for the lowest grade, with the highest grade hitting $6.49 per gallon.
Labra said that he has considered riding his bike or taking public transportation due to the high prices.
“I just have to see a better quality of living; you know what I mean? It just feels like a newer generation is going to have the worst time ever to do anything … like gas is just one part of it, you know,” Labra said. “Just thinking about stuff like buying a house and stuff. Like, I don’t know. It just makes me feel like, ‘Wow, money is kind of a big part of like how we’re supposed to live.’”
People who were passing through were having the same reactions to the prices like Karen Merchant, a resident from Los Altos heading to Palm Desert, and Luigi Gallegos, a resident from Lake Tahoe heading home.
Both were pumping gas at the Arco on Lyons Avenue.
Merchant drives an Infinity G37 and says that the prices are just ridiculous.
“It makes you wish (President Donald) Trump hadn’t gone and done something. He started a war with Iran, right? We didn’t need that,” Merchant said while with her husband filling up her tank.
Gallegos said that he has no control over the gas prices and that he has seen all kinds of prices over the years. He said he drives a 1999 Toyota Tacoma.
“Yeah, when gas is high, I try to fill up a half tank as a psychological pretend that it’s a full tank,” Gallegos said.
He added that he tries to conserve where he can and tops off when he knows things will get crazy.
