(The Center Square) – As North Carolinians prepare to travel for the Christmas holiday, the price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline remains a couple of dimes below the national average.
North Carolina’s $2.83 average for a gallon is below the $3.05 national average on Friday morning, according to the American Automobile Association. AAA forecasts 3.5 million residents of the state to travel 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and Jan. 1.
Nationally, the forecast is for 119.3 million to travel more than 50 miles form home.
“Travelers should expect the roads, airports and cruise terminals to be more crowded than normal,” Debbie Haas of AAA – The Auto Club Group said in a release.
North Carolina, with registrations of more than 8 million combustion engines to just more than 100,000 zero emissions vehicles, has an average diesel price of $3.41.
The unleaded regular price is 5 cents better than a month ago and 12 cents better than last year at the same time. The diesel price is down 2 cents from a month ago and 55 cents less than a year ago.
Seventeen states are less expensive than North Carolina for unleaded gas, and 21 are for diesel.
This year North Carolina taxes gasoline at 40.4 cents per gallon, up 2 cents from last year. States higher are California (59.6); Pennsylvania (57.6); Washington (49.4); and Illinois (47).
Motor fuel taxes in the state go to the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, adding up to just more than half of the state transportation resources. Specifically, the revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
Among 14 major metro areas, unleaded gas is the least expensive in Jacksonville at $2.72. Most expensive is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area ($2.97).
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.27) in Jacksonville.
This year, North Carolina averages were $3.15 for unleaded gas and $4.07 for diesel at Martin Luther King Day; $3.35 and $3.87, respectively, just before Memorial Day; $3.30 and $3.77 prior to July 4; $3.10 and $3.63 as Labor Day approached, and $2.87 and $3.42 ahead of Thanksgiving.
