The fuel crisis has been all over the news and with no end in sight, Admiral Car Insurance has pinpointed the most expensive counties to refuel your car, as well as, breaking it down by the most expensive compared to annual salaries.
Researchers at Admiral Car Insurance calculated how much the average motorist is set to spend on petrol over the next 12 months, based on the local cost of fuel vs local median salaries. Based on motorists travelling the UK average of 7,490 miles per year, they multiplied the local cost of refuelling with petrol (as of 19th April 2022) and compared it to the local median salary in each of England’s counties.
Key findings:
- Herefordshire ranked as the 2nd most unaffordable county to refuel in England, costing residents 12.3% of their hourly wage.
- In Cornwall, the average petrol price costs £1.67 per litre – that is 13% of the average hourly salary in Cornwall, which is the highest percentage in the whole of England.
- Surrey ranked as the most affordable county to refuel your car, costing roughly 8.4% of the local average hourly wage to refuel.
Refuelling the average driver in Herefordshire costs them 12.3% of their average hourly salary, the second-highest of all counties in England. To refuel a car in Cornwall that drives the average total yearly mileage in the UK (7,490 miles per year) is £1,095.
| County | Average petrol price per L (p) | Annual mileage cost (£)* | Cost of a litre of petrol vs average hourly salary? (%) |
| Cornwall | 167.3 | 1,149 | 13% |
| Herefordshire | 159.5 | 1,095 | 12.3% |
| Northumberland | 173.7 | 1,193 | 11.9% |
| Somerset | 164.7 | 1,132 | 11.6% |
| Norfolk | 163.9 | 1,126 | 11.6% |
| Tyne and Wear | 161.3 | 1,108 | 11.5% |
| Devon | 160.9 | 1,105 | 11.5% |
| Lincolnshire | 160.5 | 1,103 | 11.4% |
| Nottinghamshire | 163.3 | 1,122 | 11.4% |
| Suffolk | 159.7 | 1,097 | 11.4% |
Surrey ranked as the most affordable county to get petrol in England in relation to the local annual salaries, with locals paying an estimate of 8.4% of their average hourly wage on petrol.
Surprisingly, the notoriously expensive capital only ranked as the 2nd most affordable county in England to refuel your car with residents paying an average of 8.5% of their average hourly salary towards petrol.
