Petrol and diesel prices are on the way back down after reaching record highs in March. According to the RAC's fuel watch, the average fuel prices across the UK are 162.21p for unleaded and 176.25p for diesel.
Fuel costs are just one aspect of the increasing cost of living, but the impact on household budgets is not uniform across Wales as prices can vary by as much as 15p per litre.
Admiral Car Insurance has calculated how much the average motorist is set to spend on petrol over the next 12 months. Assuming motorists travel the UK average of 7,490 miles per year, Admiral 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. You can read all our stories on fuel prices here.
Read more: W hy petrol stations in the UK are running out of fuel despite there being no shortage
Monmouthshire ranked as the most expensive place to refuel in Wales with an average petrol price per litre of 165.1p and an average annual mileage cost of a whopping £1,134. You can get more traffic and travel news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Flintshire ranked as the 2nd most expensive place with a petrol price of 164.1p per litre (average annual cost of £1,127) and Vale of Glamorgan and Isle of Anglesey both ranked as the joint 3rd most expensive petrol prices (both 163.9p petrol price per litre).
| Ranking | County | Average petrol price per L (p) |
Annual mileage cost (£)* |
| 1 | Monmouthshire |
165.1 | 1,134 |
| 2 | Flintshire | 164.1 | 1,127 |
| 3 | Vale of Glamorgan | 163.9 | 1,126 |
| 3 | Isle of Anglesey | 163.9 | 1,126 |
| 5 | Neath Port Talbot | 163.5 | 1,123 |
| 6 | Newport | 163.3 | 1,122 |
| 7 | Denbighshire | 162.4 | 1,115 |
| 8 | Conwy | 162.3 | 1,115 |
| 9 | Merthyr Tydfil | 161.4 | 1,109 |
| 10 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 160.7 | 1,104 |
Powys ranked as the cheapest place to refuel in Wales with an average petrol price per litre of 149.4p and an average annual mileage cost of a whopping £1,026. Bridgend ranked in 2nd place with an average petrol price of 156.3p per litre and Wrexham ranked as the 3rd cheapest place to refuel with an average price of 158.2p per litre. Drivers are furious over a sunglasses rule that can land you with a £5,000 fine - you can read about that here.
| Ranking | County | Average petrol price per L (p) | Annual mileage cost (£)* |
| 1 | Powys |
149.4 | 1,026 |
| 2 | Bridgend | 156.3 | 1,074 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 158.2 | 1,087 |
| 4 | Cardiff | 158.6 | 1,090 |
| 4 | Pembrokeshire | 158.6 | 1,090 |
| 6 | Blaenau Gwent | 159.5 | 1,096 |
| 7 | Caerphilly | 159.8 | 1,098 |
| 8 | Gwynedd | 159.9 | 1,099 |
| 9 | Carmarthenshire | 160.1 | 1,100 |
| 10 | Swansea | 160.4 | 1,102 |
Monmouthshire may have ranked as the most expensive place to refuel but it also ranked as the most affordable for its residents with it costing an estimated 9.4% of the average hourly salary in Monmouthshire. Cardiff ranked as the 2nd most affordable place to refuel in Wales, with petrol costing its residents 10.4% of their average hourly salary.
| Ranking | County | Average petrol price per L (p) |
Cost of a litre of petrol vs average hourly salary? (%) |
| 1 | Monmouthshire |
165.1 | 9.4% |
| 2 | Cardiff | 158.6 | 10.4% |
| 3 | Carmarthenshire | 160.1 | 10.8% |
| 4 | Isle of Anglesey | 163.9 | 10.8% |
| 5 | Bridgend | 156.3 | 11.0% |
| 6 | Wrexham | 158.2 | 11.0% |
| 7 | Caerphilly | 159.8 | 11.1% |
| 8 | Swansea | 160.4 | 11.1% |
| 9 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 160.7 | 11.1% |
| 10 | Vale of Glamorgan | 164.1 | 11.2% |
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