Shell leads the nation’s gas station brands in consumer consideration, with 25.4% of visitors saying they would consider the brand for their next fill-up, according to YouGov’s 2026 U.S. gas station rankings released Tuesday.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven ranks second at 22.8%, followed by ExxonMobil, Spring, Texas, at 20.3%, according to YouGov BrandIndex data collected from August 2025 through July 2026. Year-over-year comparisons used data from August 2024 to July 2025.
“Gas station choice is about more than what drivers pay at the pump,” said Lizzy Greer, data consultant at YouGov, a research firm based in London. “These rankings show that brands can stand out in very different ways, through perceptions of quality, value, national reach or regional strength.”
Circle K, owned by Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, recorded the largest year-over-year gain in consideration among eligible brands, rising 1.2 percentage points. Marathon, Findlay, Ohio, gained 0.6 points and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, rose 0.4 points.
Houston-based Shell maintained its top position despite slipping 0.8 points from the previous year. ExxonMobil also declined 0.8 points, while bp fell 0.7 points.
“Shell leads nationally and performs particularly well on quality, while 7-Eleven stands out on value and Circle K has gained the most ground in consideration over the past year,” Greer said.
Greer said the regional results also show how significantly the competitive landscape can change depending on where drivers are in the country.
YouGov data showed regional preferences varied across the country. Shell led in the South at 27.9% and the Midwest at 24.%. ExxonMobil topped the Northeast at 24.2%, with Wawa close behind at 23.8%, YouGov reported. Chevron ranked first in the West at 26.4%.
- Shell is No. 31 on CSP’s 2026 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count. 7-Eleven is No. 1, Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2, Wawa is No. 8 , Love’s Travel Stops is No. 14 .
The data also revealed distinct brand strengths in value and quality perceptions. 7-Eleven recorded the highest value score at 18.5, followed by Wawa, Pennsylvania-based Wawa at 15.6 and Circle K at 14.8. Shell led quality perceptions at 29%, ahead of ExxonMobil at 23.8% and Houston-based Chevron at 23.2%, according to YouGov data.
The analysis surveyed more than 3,440 U.S. gas station visitors nationally. Year-over-year comparisons included more than 18,470 respondents for 2026 and more than 14,600 for 2025 among eligible brands.
The U.S. gas stations tracked by YouGov BrandIndex include: Shell, 7-Eleven, ExxonMobil, Circle K, Chevron, bp, Wawa, Love’s, Sunoco, Marathon, Sheetz, Phillips 66, Citgo, RaceTrac, Conoco, and 76 Gas. YouGov said 7 -Eleven, Wawa, RaceTrac, Atlanta, and Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz were excluded from the year-over-year comparison because they had not been tracked for at least 18 months.
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