(The Center Square) — Mississippi remains the state with the lowest average price of gas in the nation going into the Labor Day weekend.
At $3.31 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, the price has increased 5 cents in a month and is only 1.67% less than the same time last year according to the American Automobile Association.
The national average is $3.83, according to AAA.
Claiborne County in southwest Mississippi had the highest prices in the Magnolia State at $3.72, while Jones County in the Pine Belt had the lowest at $3.17 per gallon.
The three-county Gulf Coast area had the least expensive gasoline among the state’s four metro areas at $3.24 per gallon, followed by Jackson at $3.29, Hattiesburg at $3.31 and Southaven-Olive Branch (south of Memphis, Tenn.) at $3.34.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, Mississippi has the second-lowest state taxes and fees on gasoline (18.79 cents per gallon), second only to Alaska (15.13 per gallon).
The next lowest averages by state were Louisiana ($3.39 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline), Arkansas ($3.41), Alabama ($3.42) and Texas ($3.42). Highest states are California ($5.29), Washington ($5.11), Hawaii ($4.78), Oregon ($4.77) and Alaska ($4.60).
Florida ($3.70), Georgia ($3.60), South Carolina ($3.48) and Tennessee ($3.45) have the highest prices in the Southeast.
