15 States with the Most Expensive Gas Prices Right Now
Do you have a road trip planned for this summer? If so, you might need to budget extra gas money, depending on the states you cruise through.
According to a report by The Hill, gas stations change their prices an average of a few times per week, although during volatile moments, that frequency can jump up to several price changes within a day. Furthermore, prices vary within a state according to the city and gas station brand.
AAA takes it upon itself to publish the average gas prices in each state every day. These are the states with the most expensive gas prices as of today, June 6th.
National Average
For reference when looking through these numbers, the average price of regular gas across the country is $3.487. That’s down from $3.651 on May 6th of this year.
With that knowledge on hand, these are the states that currently have the highest average regular gas prices.
1: California
- Regular gas: $4.980
- Diesel gas: $5.194
2: Hawaii
- Regular gas: $4.765
- Diesel gas: $5.501
3: Washington
- Regular gas: $4.445
- Diesel gas: $4.551
4: Oregon
- Regular gas: $4.191
- Diesel gas: $4.107
5: Nevada
- Regular gas: $4.160
- Diesel gas: $3.923
6: Alaska
- Regular gas: $4.077
- Diesel gas: $3.843
7: Illinois
- Regular gas: $3.856
- Diesel gas: $3.797
8: Arizona
- Regular gas: $3.744
- Diesel gas: $3.852
9: Pennsylvania
- Regular gas: $3.702
- Diesel gas: $4.329
10: Idaho
- Regular gas: $3.671
- Diesel gas: $3.717
11: New York
- Regular gas: $3.640
- Diesel gas: $4.307
12: Connecticut
- Regular gas: $3.603
- Diesel gas: $4.071
13: Maryland
- Regular gas: $3.572
- Diesel gas: $3.972
14: Vermont
- Regular gas: $3.541
- Diesel gas: $4.007
15: Utah
- Regular gas: $3.527
- Diesel gas: $3.588
Cheapest Gas
Mississippi has the cheapest gas. It currently costs an average of $2.982 per gallon for regular gas and $3.519 for diesel.
Cheapest Time To Buy Gas
Major events that impact the oil industry aside, the cheapest time to buy gas is typically on Mondays and Tuesdays. In contrast, Fridays and Saturdays is when the average price of gas is the most expensive.
Lead petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan, offers his perspective on this pricing trend. He says that since energy markets are only open Monday through Friday, gas stations might be trying to keep up their profits by passing around any gas price increases that occurred earlier in the week.
Furthermore, the government releases a weekly report on Wednesday, which can significantly impact the wholesale price of oil.
Save Money on Gas
Although the average American citizen doesn’t have control over fluctuating gas prices, here’s the good news: There are certain things you can do to reduce the frequency you need to fill up your tank and how much money you spend on it. They include:
- Signing up for gas cards and fuel rewards programs
- Using a gas tracker app to monitor local prices
- Paying via cash instead of a credit card
- Reducing air conditioning use
- Reducing long-term idling
- Keeping tires inflated
- Not speeding
Hypermiling Fans
During times of extreme gas price hikes, you might hear the word “hypermiling” thrown around. Hypermiling, the act of maximizing fuel efficiency to extreme measures, isn’t for the faint of heart. However, it’ll undoubtedly help you reduce trips to the gas station.
In addition to the gas-saving tactics we already discussed, one of the things that hypermilers do is park their cars towards the sun when it’s cold out. The goal? To reduce or eliminate the amount of energy it takes to defrost their windshields. In the summer, hypermilers go to great lengths to park in the shade to save on air conditioning.
9 Times in History When Gas Prices Spiked to Crazy High Levels
The frustration you feel when pulling up to the pump and seeing a higher price is nothing new. Gas prices have had peaks and valleys since World War II, and they’ve disrupted Americans’ lives many times.
9 Times in History When Gas Prices Spiked to Crazy High Levels
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