Topline
AAA reported the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. surpassed $5 on Saturday, marking the first time the unwanted milestone has been reached in the history of its industry-leading price tracker, but drivers in some parts of the country are paying far different prices.
Key Facts
The average price for gas in California is $6.43 a gallon, according to AAA, more than 80 cents more expensive than the next-highest state, Nevada, where gas is $5.64 a gallon.
Several Bay Area counties have prices above $6.60 a gallon, while drivers in Alpine County, a rural area along the Nevada border, are paying $7.80 per gallon, the highest of any county in the United States.
Prices are generally highest in the West, with gas at $5.54 in Washington and Oregon, $5.31 in Arizona, and more than $5.50 on average in Alaska and Hawaii.
Only one state east of the Rockies has an average gas price above $5.30 a gallon: Illinois, where the average price is $5.56.
The highest prices there are centered around Chicago, with the metro average now at $5.92 a gallon and the average in the city topping $6.06.
Most states in the Northeast have prices above the national average, but only by a few cents, according to AAA.
Contra
Prices are far below the national average across the South, with Georgia boasting the lowest state average–$4.47 a gallon–followed by Mississippi at $4.52 and Arkansas at $4.53. Jones County in central Georgia appears to have the cheapest prices of any county in the country: $4.29, on average.
Key Background
Skyrocketing gas prices have been one of the biggest and most noticeable drivers of historically high inflation. The price for a gallon of gas is up nearly $2 from a year ago, when it was $3.08, according to AAA. A large chunk of the increase has come in just the past few weeks—a gallon of gas cost $4.82 on average only one week ago and $4.40 on average a month ago, according to AAA. An increase in the price of crude oil, which is used to produce petroleum products, is largely driving the jump in gas prices. U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose to more than $120 a barrel this week, continuing an upward climb after briefly dropping below $100 a barrel in May. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with an initially sluggish response from OPEC to ramp up production in response to the conflict and a diminishing refining capacity in the U.S. have contributed to the surge in oil prices.
Further Reading
Inflation Unexpectedly Spiked 8.6% In May—Hitting 40-Year High As Gas Prices Surge Again (Forbes)
The US Can't Make Enough Fuel and There's No Fix in Sight (Bloomberg)
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