From the Courier Journal:

People from Kentucky are spending more of their paychecks on gasoline than residents of all but eight states, according to a Courier-Journal analysis of data from the Oil Price Information Service.

Kentuckians’ average monthly gas bill was $211 at the end of June, or nearly 8 percent of their income, and up from $158 during 2007, the analysis shows.

Hoosiers paid out an average of $221, or about 6 percent of their median monthly income. Nationwide, drivers spent nearly 7 percent of their earnings on gas.

A study of 2007 data released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental action group, shows similar trends, ranking both Kentucky and Indiana among the 10 states where gas prices eat up the largest chunks of income.

With lower incomes and few public transportation choices, Kentucky’s rural counties were very vulnerable to high gasoline prices, according to the Oil Price Information Service, a petroleum news group that tracks costs.

For example, on average, drivers in Owsley County in Eastern Kentucky spent more than 15 percent of their income on fuel — the highest in the state, and fourth-highest nationwide.

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