By Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, that cost dropped to $3.18 per gallon. That cost is slightly more expensive than today’s prices. However, it was a monumental decrease compared to gas prices from Memorial Day weekend in 2024. Then, AAA reported that the national average price was $3.59 per gallon. This year’s gas prices for Memorial Day weekend were the cheapest since 2021.

Monday’s costs were substantially lower than a year ago when the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.536. Today’s price was also less expensive than a month ago, when the average fuel cost for a gallon of regular gas was $3.18. Incidentally, the price was identical to that of Memorial Day weekend. Heading into the summer season, the lower fuel costs could help increase tourism and summer travel if prices maintain this current level. 

Gas prices have fluctuated in the last six months. From December’s average prices being close to $3 per gallon to nearly $3.30 per gallon in the winter to Memorial Day weekend, fuel costs have increased and decreased since Christmas. Several geopolitical factors were at the root of these price changes, including oil supply and demand, changes in presidential administrations, tariffs, and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The primary factor, however, for the amount one spends on gas is usually based on the state where he or she lives. 

The most expensive gas prices in the country are located in the states along the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. Conversely, the cheapest gas is found in states in the Gulf of America region. 

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California has the dubious distinction of having the highest average statewide gas prices in the U.S. The average cost of regular gas in the Golden State is $4.775 per gallon for residents. This is followed by Hawaii, with an average statewide cost of $4.478 per gallon. Washington state has the third-highest gas prices in the country, with an average cost of $4.398. The following two states with the highest statewide average prices dropped below the $4 per gallon price point. In Oregon, a gallon of regular gas is $3.991, and in Nevada, it is $3.862 per gallon.

Mississippi has the cheapest gas prices in the country. On Monday, the statewide average for the state is $2.648 per gallon. Tennessee and Texas are next, with both states having an average per-gallon cost of $2.709. Louisiana, at $2.717 per gallon, and Alabama, at $2.733, round out the five states with the least expensive gas prices in the country this week.