Gas prices are finally moving in the right direction for much of the country, but where you live still makes an enormous difference in what you’ll pay to fill the tank.
AAA’s national average for regular gasoline stood at $4.01 per gallon on August 11, down from about $4.09 one week ago. That’s a welcome decline of nearly eight cents per gallon, although prices remain dramatically higher than they were a year ago, when the national average was just $3.14.
The map shows another striking trend: America’s most expensive gas is overwhelmingly concentrated in the West.
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California and Hawaii remain well above $5
California is once again the most expensive state in the country, with regular gasoline averaging $5.59 per gallon. Hawaii isn’t far behind at $5.45, while Washington rounds out the three states above $5 at $5.14 per gallon.
The rest of the top 10 consists of Alaska at $4.78, Nevada at $4.76, Oregon at $4.67, Idaho at $4.37, Arizona at $4.35, Utah at $4.34 and Colorado at $4.25. In other words, every state among the nation’s 10 most expensive is in the western U.S. or Pacific region.
For a 15-gallon fill-up, the difference gets substantial. At California’s statewide average, filling an empty tank would cost roughly $84, compared with about $60 at the current national average.
Gas prices have started falling again
There is at least some relief appearing nationally. AAA said last week that lower crude oil prices were helping push gasoline prices downward, with crude falling into the $70-per-barrel range. The organization also noted that gasoline demand typically begins easing around this point in the summer as schools return and the peak road-trip season winds down.
That’s a reversal from July, when rising crude prices pushed the national gasoline average rapidly toward and eventually above $4 per gallon.
For drivers in much of the country, that means prices could be heading lower. But if you’re filling up in California, Hawaii or Washington, the pump is still considerably more painful than the national average.