Most Popular Gas Station by State

These rankings reflect consumer brand preference — not raw station count. A brand can operate 13,000 locations and still lose the #1 position to a chain with 54 stores, because popularity measures cultural affinity, repeat visit intent, and customer satisfaction rather than physical proximity alone. The data covers 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont are not included in this particular dataset. Rankings reflect 2024 consumer preference data. One notable temporal artifact: Kum & Go appears in 8 state rankings despite the brand ceasing to exist in November 2025, when parent company Maverik completed the full rebrand of all ~400 former Kum & Go locations. Those rankings now functionally belong to Maverik.

Shell is the most omnipresent gas station in the dataset, appearing in the top 5 of 39 out of 44 states — an 89% coverage rate that no other brand approaches. With over 13,000 U.S. locations spread across all 50 states, Shell is statistically the closest gas station to more Americans than any competitor. Yet it holds the #1 spot in just a single state: Illinois.

The pattern tells a clear story. Shell ranks #2 in 13 states, #3 in 8 states, and #4 in 12 states. National consumer surveys confirm the same dynamic — Shell captures the largest overall visit share at 15% of all gas station trips, ahead of ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron at 11% each. Consumers choose Shell because it is conveniently located along their regular routes (54% cite this reason), not because of deep brand loyalty. The result is a brand that wins the aggregate volume game while losing the popularity contest in nearly every individual market. BP follows a similar but less extreme pattern: #1 in 7 states, appearing in 26 states total, with its strength concentrated in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic corridors from Indiana to Massachusetts.

Chevron holds more #1 positions than any other brand at 10 states, but the geographic concentration is striking: 7 of those 10 are west of the Rockies. California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico all rank Chevron first — a contiguous sweep of the American West that no other brand replicates in any region. Chevron's remaining three #1 states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi) trace back to its Gulf Coast refinery infrastructure.

This pattern is not coincidental. Chevron's Western dominance reflects both refinery proximity (it operates major facilities in Richmond, California and Salt Lake City, Utah) and a brand identity built on the Techron additive marketing campaign that resonated particularly strongly with West Coast consumers. East of the Mississippi, Chevron's presence drops sharply — it appears in only 4 non-Western/Gulf states, none higher than #2. The brand effectively functions as two different entities: a regional monopolist in the West and a marginal player everywhere else.

The most striking pattern in the data is not which oil major leads where — it is how often independent regional chains beat them entirely. Regional brands hold the #1 position in 18 of 44 states (41%), nearly matching oil majors' 20-state hold. Three regional chains stand out for the structural disruption they represent.

Buc-ee's operates approximately 54 locations across 10 states, yet it is the #1 most popular gas station in Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and appears in the top 5 of 8 states. This means Buc-ee's wins a state-level #1 ranking for roughly every 18 stores it operates — compared to Shell's ratio of 1 state per 13,000 stores. The brand's planned expansion into Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin through 2027 will likely restructure the rankings in multiple states. QuikTrip holds #1 in 5 states (Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma) with approximately 1,200 locations, anchoring a Sun Belt/Southern corridor. The Tulsa-based chain earned the highest number of #1 states in GasBuddy's customer satisfaction ratings as well, suggesting that popularity and satisfaction are tightly linked for this brand.

Casey's quietly dominates the Upper Midwest with #1 rankings in 5 contiguous states (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota). With 2,772 locations and plans to open 80 new stores in fiscal 2026, Casey's has built the most geographically cohesive single-region dominance of any brand in the dataset. Its model — pizza-focused convenience stores in rural and small-town markets — fills a niche that national oil brands structurally cannot replicate.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the dataset where two fiercely competing regional brands occupy the top 5 simultaneously: Wawa at #1 and Sheetz at #4. This rivalry, rooted in a shared Pennsylvania origin and similar made-to-order food models, is now expanding beyond state borders. Wawa operates over 1,100 locations across 14 states with its largest concentration in Florida (314 stores), while Sheetz has crossed 800 stores and aims for 1,000 by 2028. Both earned a customer satisfaction score of 82/100 in the 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index — the highest of any convenience store chains nationally.

Several other micro-rivalries emerge from the data. Cumberland Farms holds #1 in Connecticut and Maine — the only New England states in the dataset — but its parent company EG America is simultaneously rebranding acquired Tom Thumb locations under the Cumberland name, signaling a push to expand the brand's footprint. Stewart's Shops appears exclusively in New York (#3), representing one of the most hyper-local brands in the entire dataset alongside SuperAmerica (only in Minnesota, #2) and Kwik Trip (only in Iowa, #5).

Eight state rankings still list Kum & Go — a brand that no longer exists. Maverik completed the rebrand of all ~400 former Kum & Go convenience stores on November 21, 2025, consolidating them under the Maverik name across 21 states. The affected rankings span the Midwest and Mountain West: Wyoming (#2), Colorado (#3), North Dakota (#3), Oklahoma (#3), Iowa (#4), South Dakota (#4), Arkansas (#5), and Nebraska (#5).

This creates a natural experiment in brand succession. Maverik now operates approximately 755 total stores — more than double its pre-acquisition footprint — making it one of the largest privately-owned convenience retailers in the country. Whether Maverik inherits Kum & Go's popularity rankings or loses ground during the transition depends on how consumers in these 8 states respond to the name change. Early evidence suggests friction: former Kum & Go owner Kyle Krause has publicly stated that Maverik's owners originally promised to keep the Kum & Go name and branding. The data will likely look meaningfully different by the next update cycle as the Maverik brand stabilizes in these markets.