(The Center Square) – Drivers hitting the roads this holiday weekend will likely see gas prices at their lowest nationally in nearly two years. That’s according to data from AAA.
On Wednesday, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded, according to the organization representing motorists across the country, was just $3.281. That was down more than 6 cents from a week ago, nearly 27 cents from last month and more than 35 cents from the average this time last year.
“Drivers this Thanksgiving can expect cheaper gas prices,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said last week. “Ten states now have sub $3 a gallon averages, and more will join soon. So savvy drivers will find savings on their way to a turkey dinner this year.”
The national average has not been this low since December 2021.
Kentucky is bucking the trend slightly. On Wednesday, the average price for a gallon of unleaded was $3.018. While that was down 2 cents from Tuesday, it was up nearly 4 from last week. Still, the current price was nearly 32 cents cheaper than the average from Thanksgiving week last year.
Across the state, averages ranged from $2.613 in Henderson County in western Kentucky, which is 48 cents cheaper than this time last year, to $3.299 across the state in Owsley County.
Drivers in Louisville were paying $3.113, down more than 50 cents from last year. The $3.052 average in Lexington was nearly 22 cents cheaper than a year ago.
Only Tennessee has a lower average price than Kentucky among its border states. Its $2.908 average was the eighth lowest nationally. Illinois had the highest cost regionally at $3.451, but in the Carbondale-Marion region in the southern tip of the state near Paducah, the average price was $3.222, down 45 cents from the same time last year.
The country’s two largest states are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Texas drivers are paying the lowest for a gallon, with the average price of just $2.751, while California’s average price stands at $4.94.
