by Michael Gauthier
- Labor Day gas prices are the cheapest they’ve been since 2021.
- The national average price of regular unleaded is $3.190 per gallon.
- Prices are expected to continue dropping and could dip below $3.
As millions of Americans celebrate Labor Day, they have something else to be excited about – the lowest gas prices in years. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.190. That’s down significantly from last year, when the price was $3.332 per gallon.
While prices recently climbed due to flooding at a refinery in Indiana, GasBuddy data indicates Labor Day prices are the lowest they’ve been since 2021, when the price of regular unleaded was $3.16 per gallon. However, prices are still a far cry away from 2020, when Americans were headed to barbeques using gas that cost $2.22 per gallon.
More: Gas Prices Are The Lowest They’ve Been In Years
The situation is expected to improve even further as refineries will transition to cheaper winter gasoline in mid-September. On top of that, demand is expected to fall as summer is unofficially over and this means there will be less road trips.
GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, said “We’ve seen a remarkably affordable summer to hit the road with incomes up and gas prices down, but there are some challenges that remain: hurricane season and uncertainty over trade, tariffs and Russia’s war on Ukraine.” However, he believes prices could potentially drop to under $3 per gallon this fall.
GasBuddy / Projected price is lower than in reality
AAA also floated the possibility of gasoline dropping below $3, but contended there are “too many variables to make a prediction” as the “oil market is too volatile.” That being said, the organization noted “barring any major geopolitical events or tropical storms hitting the Gulf Coast, it’s safe to say drivers could continue to see cheaper prices at the pump as summer winds down.”
Of course, where you live has a big difference on what you pay at the pump. Californians are paying an average of $4.612 this Labor Day, while prices in Texas are just $2.769 per gallon.
