(July 4, 2017) At $2.23, today’s average national gas price is the cheapest the country has seen all year, according to statistics released by AAA. On the week, gas prices fell in 46 states. Only Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C. saw prices increase, albeit by one cent each, while Hawaii and Maine remained flat.

South Carolina continues to carry the cheapest gas in the country at $1.90. Today, consumers can find gas for $2.00 or less at one out of every four gas stations in the country.

“The combination of tepid demand and increased gasoline and crude output continues to put downward pressure on gas prices,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA Spokesperson. “While holiday gasoline demand is likely to reach new highs, it will probably not be enough to cause a significant increase on the price of gasoline in the coming week.”

The last time gas prices were this cheap for the Independence Day holiday was 2005. That year, the price on July 4 was $2.23, which was the first time gas prices ever rose above the $2.00 mark for the holiday. Today’s price is three cents less than a week ago, 15 cents less than a month ago and four cents less than this day a year ago.



Quick Stats

    The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets are: South Carolina ($1.90), Alabama ($1.96), Oklahoma ($1.97), Mississippi ($1.97), Tennessee ($2.00), Arkansas ($2.00), Missouri ($2.00), Virginia ($2.01), Texas ($2.02) and Louisiana ($2.04).

    The nation’s top 10 markets with largest monthly changes are: Ohio (-28 cents), Florida (-23 cents), Michigan (-23 cents), Indiana (-19 cents), Delaware (-19 cents), Kentucky (-18 cents), Texas (-18 cents), Maryland (-16 cents), Iowa (-16 cents) and California (-16 cents).

The South and Southeast carry the country’s cheapest gasoline prices. The average price is $2.03 in the region. On the week, two states landed on the top 10 list for largest prices drops in the country: Florida (-5 cents) and Texas (-4 cents), while the region saw gasoline prices drop by three cents on average. According to the EIA, gasoline stocks drew down by 500,000 barrels.

Regional refineries continue to run at high utilization rates, raising the need to push barrels to all markets, including outside of the U.S.

For a consecutive week, gasoline prices declined in 14 Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states on average by two cents on the week. Washington, D.C. was the outlier, seeing a one-cent gas price increase on the week. However, compared to one month ago, gas prices are on average 12 cents cheaper in the region.

Consumers are seeing the greatest benefits month-over-month in Delaware (-19 cents), Maryland (-16 cents), Pennsylvania (-15 cents), Virginia (-14 cents) and North Carolina (-13 cents).

Gasoline stockpiles were on an upward swing on the week, rising by 600,000 barrels and this was the only region in the country to see stocks increase. The stock increase, paired with lackluster demand, contributed to the gasoline prices drop.