(The Center Square) — North Carolina’s gas prices remain well below the national average and about the same as last year going into the Labor Day weekend.
The state’s current average of $3.53 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is about the same as it was a week, month, and year ago, with motorists paying $3.55 the same time last year.
It’s also about 30 cents below the national average of $3.82, which is 8 cents higher than a month ago and 3 cents less than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
Clay County in the southwest had the lowest prices in the Old North State at $3.40 for regular unleaded, while south central Anson County had the highest at $3.69.
The Durham-Chapel Hill was the highest among the state’s 15 metro areas at $3.61 for regular, up nearly a dime from a month ago. The Fayetteville metro area was the lowest, down four cents from a month ago to $3.45 for regular.
“With visits to the pump rather flat and the price of oil hovering around the $80 per barrel mark, the national average for a gallon of gas will likely stay where it is through this holiday weekend,” AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said Thursday. “Hurricane Idalia may cause regional price jumps due to station damage, flooded roads, and power outages, but as in past years, these things are usually fixed in a few weeks.”
North Carolina’s average price for mid-grade was $3.92, premium was $4.29, and diesel was $4.27. At the same time last year, those prices stood at $3.92, $4.27, and $4.95, respectively.
The state’s highest recorded average price for regular unleaded came in June 2022 at $4.67, and the same month for diesel at $5.77.
Gas taxes in North Carolina this year are 40.5 cents per gallon, up 2 cents from last year and seventh-highest in the nation.
North Carolina’s average price of $3.54 for a gallon of regular unleaded is the 11th lowest in the nation, behind Mississippi at $3.30, Louisiana at $3.37, Arkansas at $3.40, Texas at $3.41, Alabama at $3.42, Tennessee at $3.43, Missouri at $3.48, Kentucky at $3.49, South Carolina at $3.50 and Oklahoma at $3.51.
The highest average prices for regular unleaded were in California at $5.30, Washington at $5.10, Hawaii at $4.80, Oregon at $4.75, and Alaska at $4.62.
