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The States With the Most Expensive Gas Prices

August 23, 2024

3 min Read

Written by Josephine Nesbit

Edited by Maria Concepcion

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If you’re planning to take a last-minute summer road trip, filling up at the pump won’t cost as much compared to the beginning of the season. However, some states are pricier to drive through than others.

As of Aug. 23, 2024, the AAA national average cost for regular unleaded gasoline was $3.374, but some states – like Hawaii and California – are over a dollar more expensive. The price of gas ranged from $4.657 for a gallon of regular gas in Hawaii, the highest in the nation, to $2.921 in Mississippi.

California isn’t far behind Hawaii, where the state gas tax is the highest in the nation. “For every Mississippi, you have a California to balance it out,” Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA, told NPR.

Experts say the nicer weather, global events, EVs and an aging U.S. population are influencing the downward trend in gas prices. Last year, a heatwave forced Texas refineries to cut operations, and Hurricane Ida shut down oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, therefore pushing up gas prices. But an active hurricane season this year – which forecasters have warned of – could change everything.

“The late-season wild card is always hurricanes,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said to NRP. “If a hurricane makes landfall in a refining area, it can really disrupt things.” But the further we get into hurricane season (between mid-August and late October) without major storms, the better for consumers, De Haan added.

There’s also been record oil production as U.S. demand has tapered. Tom Kloza, the global head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), said several factors could explain this change, including fewer commuters due to remote work, more electric vehicles on the road and an aging U.S. population that tends to drive less, NPR reported. Kloza noted that every million EVs sold reduces demand by about 22,000 barrels per day.

If you’re planning a road trip this upcoming Labor Day weekend, here are nine states, plus the District of Columbia, with the most expensive gas prices ranked from most to least expensive, according to AAA.