Have Gas Prices Gone Up?

If you’re feeling sticker shock at the pump, it’s not without reason.

The national average price-per-gallon sits at $5.01 today. Overall gasoline prices rose 48.7% over the past year ending in May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Personal Capital proprietary data shows that consumers spent more per transaction in the past year, now up by 35%.

As of June 11, the average weekly spend on gas has increased to $110.

Cost of Inflation

The thing about inflation is this: Not all industries have been impacted the same. Overall consumer inflation is up 8.6% over the past year ending in May. The price of medical care services, for instance, is up by 4% while the cost of airline fares has surged by 37.8%.

Gas prices, further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are high compared to one year ago.

Given the rise of remote work, not everyone feels the pinch on their overall budget. For remote workers, the pandemic may have offered both an incentive and an opportunity to cut costs. For workers who still have to commute every day, it probably stings.

Read More: How to Manage Inflation

U.S. Gas Prices

To draw a comparison, we took a look at gas prices using data from AAA. Today’s national average prices are:

• Regular unleaded: $5.009
• Mid-grade: $5.397
• Premium: $5.694
• Diesel: $5.786
• E85: $4.309

One year ago, the national average prices were:

• Regular unleaded: $3.075
• Mid-grade: $3.422
• Premium: $3.692
• Diesel: $3.217
• E85: $2.584

As you can see, the average national gas price is over $1.93 more than it was this time last year.

So how does your state compare to the rest of the nation? Check out the full list below.

Average Gas Prices By State

Highest & Lowest Spend by State

That’s just the cost per gallon. Looking at Personal Capital users, we examined how much people are spending every time they fuel up. Costs vary widely by state.

Here are the ten states with the highest and lowest expenditures during each visit to a gas station in May 2022.

“There are many factors that can go into gas prices,” says Daniel Goldfarb, a certified financial planner with Personal Capital. “In the states with lower gas prices, it’s possible that there is less demand or it’s easier to transport the gas in those states.”

He says that in places where gas is the most expensive, it’s a combination of various factors.

“In California, there is a large population with high demand, and the fuel taxes in that state are also set higher than other states,” he says. “Consumers are often unaware of how high the percentage is that they pay for taxes in each gallon that they purchase at the fuel pump. Alaska is another state with increased delivery costs; therefore, the state has higher gas prices to offset these additional costs.”

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