CELEBRATION
July 4th gas prices: Will it be cheaper this year?
Here is your gas price guide for the Fourth of July weekend. What you need to know.
For drivers hitting the road for a long Fourth of July weekend, we have compiled your guide on gas prices to prepare you for what you might face at the pump. While prices have increased slightly over where they were a year ago, the Environmental Information Adminstration (EIA) reported that they have gone down by $0.19 since their high this year recorded on 22 April. When the EIA published its holiday fuel report earlier this week, gas prices were down by an average of five cents compared to their position a year earlier. However, according to AAA, you will likely pay a bit more than last year, but not by much, with prices not rising more than one percent nationally across grades.
| Regular | Mid-Grade | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Price | $3.51 | $3.97 | $3.97 |
| Prices One Year Ago | $3.54 | $3.96 | $4.29 |
| Change (%) | 0.62% | 0.18% | 0.56% |
As seen above, the largest increase is for premium gasoline, likely because of the additional refining to which petroleum is subjected to reach that standard. Since the pandemic, refining capacity has decreased, and that has allowed prices to rise. In California, lawmakers passed a bill to discourage refiners from artificially lowering their capacity to be able to increase prices.
Gas Buddy, the online tool and blog covering gas prices in the US, estimates that prices will fall to $3.49 on average this weekend. If prices fall to the forecasted level, they will represent the lowest since 2021 for the Fourth of July period.
Where to get the cheapest gas?
Curious about where to fill up? Gas Buddy is a free way to identify the gas stations with the lowest prices in your area. Often, the difference can be a few cents, but if you are filling up, it adds up over time.
Which states have the lowest gas prices ahead of the Fourth of July?
AAA has tracked the lowest gas prices ahead of the holiday weekend in:
- Mississippi: $2.98
- Louisiana: $3.05
- Arkansas: $3.07
- Texas: $3.10
- Kansas: $3.11
- Oklahoma: $3.12
- Missouri: $3.13
- Alabama: $3.14
- Tennessee: $3.16
- South Dakota: $3.25
Source: AAA
On the more expensive end of the spectrum, the highest prices were recorded in:
- California: $4.79
- Hawaii: $4.70
- Washington: $4.30
- Nevada: $4.05
- Oregon: $4.04
- Alaska: $3.88
- Illinois: $3.83
- District of Columbia: $3.69
- Pennsylvania: $3.66
- Michigan: $3.62
Source: AAA
The prices across the country are related to differences in petroleum production and refining capacity, the cost of transporting gasoline, and the regulatory environment determining the fuel standards in a certain jurisdiction.