:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/whichstateshavethehighestgaspricesgoingintolabordayweekend-d085312abb4347bca329939cf58f3f8d.jpg "These states have the highest gas prices this Labor Day weekend")
Key findings
- The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.36 over Labor Day weekend.
- In much of the South, drivers pay the lowest prices of less than $3 per gallon.
- Prices on the West Coast are among the highest in the country, but are lower than last year.
If you’re taking a road trip this Labor Day, you’ll get further by avoiding the West Coast.
Nationwide, gasoline prices averaged $3.36 per gallon on Wednesday, a low not seen since the spring. However, gasoline prices vary by location. Local economic conditions, government regulations and proximity to supply locations affect gasoline costs in each region.
In some states, drivers can enjoy gas prices as low as $2.92 per gallon, while in other states they can pay as much as $4.62.
Hawaii, California and Washington are among the states with the highest average gasoline prices, while residents of Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee all pay less than $3 per gallon of gasoline.
Prices on the West Coast have fallen in the last year
Although gasoline prices on the West Coast are the highest in the country, drivers there are paying an average of about 65 cents less than they did at the same time last year, estimates gasoline price tracking website GasBuddy.
The lower prices could continue nationwide through the end of the year, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“The good news is that we may have the best chance in years to get the national average below $3 a gallon,” De Haan said. “As Thanksgiving approaches, tens of thousands of gas stations should eventually drop back below that level.”
