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In a remote corner of California, soaring fuel prices are reshaping daily life for residents who say even routine travel has become increasingly difficult.

For Connie Lear, who lives in the small community of June Lake near Yosemite National Park, driving her hybrid vehicle has become a costly necessity she tries to avoid whenever possible. The town, home to about 300 people and located near the Nevada border, sits within Mono County — currently the most expensive place in the United States to buy gasoline.

“My husband and I were watching the news this morning, and it came on about $4 gas and I said, ‘Well, where are you? Ours is $7.50!’” she said, pointing to the price at the town’s only gas station. According to AAA, the countywide average stood at $6.72 as of Monday.

The high prices reflect a mix of challenges common to rural areas, including transportation costs, limited competition and lower demand. Those factors are compounded in California, where fuel prices are the highest in the nation due to taxes, environmental regulations and a shrinking number of refineries.

Costs have climbed further amid the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. Nationwide, gasoline prices have risen by $1.14 per gallon since the war began, while California has seen an increase of $1.29.

Lear has adapted by limiting her trips to a grocery store 20 miles away to once a week. Around town, she relies on a bicycle or golf cart to manage the 42 vacation properties she oversees. When she does need to fill up her hybrid Ford Explorer, she often drives 120 miles into Nevada, where gas was “only” $4.57 during her last visit.

Despite the expense, Lear said her greater concern is the impact on tourism, a key driver of the local economy. She has already observed a drop in bookings, with visitors shortening their stays from a full week to just a few days — a pattern she recalls from 2022, when fuel prices spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“It seems like it’s going to be the same as it was then, maybe worse,” she said.

Across rural America, drivers frequently pay more at the pump than those in urban areas. Fewer discount retailers and the cost of transporting fuel long distances contribute to the disparity.

In Mono County, gasoline must be hauled more than 200 miles — a journey of roughly four and a half hours — from the nearest wholesale terminal. That expense falls heavily on local station owners.

In nearby Lee Vining, Shelly Channel operates a Shell station where regular gasoline is advertised at $6.85 per gallon, up from $5.69 before the Iran conflict began. Channel, who has been in the business since 1978 when gas cost about 50 cents a gallon, said the current surge is difficult to explain.

“It’s not like there’s any shortage of oil. I’m old enough to remember when there was rationing,” he said. “There’s no rationale as to why the prices from the day the war started have just gone through the roof.”

Lower sales volumes in rural areas further complicate the economics. While urban stations may sell in a single day what rural stations sell in a month, fixed operating costs remain similar.

Channel said he initially resisted raising prices during the first two weeks of the war, but after receiving a shipment on March 12 — his first since the conflict began — he had to increase prices by $1 per gallon to cover higher wholesale costs.

“My margin, my markup, is exactly the same as it was before this all started,” he said.

Sales fluctuate sharply with the seasons. During the summer, Channel sells around 50,000 gallons per month, but that drops to about 5,000 gallons in November and December.

Industry analysts say such volumes make profitability difficult. Tom Kloza, an independent oil analyst and adviser for Gulf Oil, said stations need significantly higher sales to operate comfortably.

“If you can do 200,000 gallons of gasoline a month, that’s the sweet spot,” Kloza said. “If you’re only doing 50,000, it’s tough, and boy, if you’re doing less than 50,000, it’s going to be really tough.”

While rural communities nationwide are feeling the strain, California drivers face particularly steep costs. The statewide average price is $5.93 per gallon.

Taxes play a significant role, with California imposing the highest state gasoline tax in the country at 71 cents per gallon. Additional costs stem from environmental policies, including a carbon program that adds 20 to 25 cents per gallon and requirements for cleaner-burning fuel that can increase prices by another 25 cents.

Refinery closures have also tightened supply. A refinery in the Los Angeles area shut down in December, and another in the Bay Area is expected to close soon, leaving just six refineries to supply roughly 28 million drivers.

Proposed regulations could add between $5 billion and $9 billion annually in costs for refinery operators, according to Jodie Muller, CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association. She warned that such expenses could lead to further closures, increasing reliance on imported fuel and keeping prices elevated even if geopolitical tensions ease.

State officials attribute much of the recent increase to global oil markets.

“The price of crude oil is the biggest factor affecting gas prices, which makes the war in Iran the primary driver of price spikes at pumps in California and around the world,” the California Energy Commission said in a statement Wednesday.

For Mono County residents, however, the global dynamics matter less than the immediate impact on their daily lives.

Channel said customers generally understand that station owners are not profiting excessively from the increases.

“That’s not to say they don’t have a coffee and gripe about the price of gas hurting everybody,” he said. “But they don’t direct it at me.”

Lear, who has lived in June Lake for nearly four decades, said she remains committed to the community despite the challenges.

“We do whatever we can think of so we don’t have to drive our car,” she said. “We can’t afford to spend $7.50 to drive around town. It’s ridiculous.”