(NEXSTAR) — Memorial Day weekend is fast approaching, and you might be heading out for a drive (or even a trip to the lake) before heading out for the long weekend.
No matter where you're going (AAA predicts 38.4 million drivers will hit the road this weekend), there's a good chance you'll have to stop at a gas station, and depending on where you're traveling, you might end up paying a steep price at the gas station.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has fallen in most states since May 16. The national average rose 1 cent on Thursday to $3.61. The biggest drop was in Utah, where it was $3.65 as of Thursday, down from $3.747 last week, according to AAA data.
But some states have seen the opposite trend: Indiana saw prices rise by nearly 20 cents since last week, while neighboring Illinois and Ohio saw prices rise by about 11 cents.
According to AAA data, the following 10 states had the highest average price per gallon of regular gasoline as of Thursday:
- California: $5.155
- Hawaii: $4.787
- Washington: $4.581
- Oregon: $4.346
- Nevada: $4.333
- Alaska: $4.328
- Illinois: $4.01
- Arizona: $3.876
- Idaho: $3.785
- Pennsylvania: $3.778
Gasoline is more affordable in the lower Midwest and around the Gulf of Mexico. No state has gas cheaper than $3 a gallon on average, but Mississippi isn't far behind. As of Thursday, the average price for regular gas was $3.064.
The 10 states with the cheapest gasoline prices were Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas, all with average prices below $3.20, and Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, all below $3.25.
Among metropolitan areas, California cities had the highest gas prices, as expected. AAA put Napa at the top of the list, where a gallon of regular gasoline cost about $5.516 on Thursday. The cheapest gasoline was in Lubbock, Texas, about 1,400 miles away, where a gallon cost about $2.957.
The average price of gasoline is up a few cents in most states compared to this time last year. Nationwide, gasoline prices are about $3.60 a gallon, about 6 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA.
Earlier this week, the Biden administration released about 1 million barrels of stockpiled gasoline as part of an effort to lower gasoline prices in the Northeast. Gasoline prices typically rise in the summer when travel increases and can be affected by environmental, cyclical and global factors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
