Topline
Travelers hitting the road over Labor Day weekend are in for lower gas prices than last year—and potentially the lowest prices since 2021—as the cost of gas continues to drop as it typically does at the end of summer.
People fill their vehicle’s gas tank as they look at a meter at a gas station in Glenview, Ill., on … [+] July 10. At least one gas price expert is predicting the national average could drop below $3 this fall.
Key Facts
GasBuddy’s annual Labor Day travel forecast predicts the average price of gas will fall to $3.27 by Monday, which would be the lowest Labor Day price since three years ago, when gas was an average of $3.16 per gallon.
If Monday’s price per gallon is $3.27, it would be a 50 cent-per gallon decrease from last year’s $3.77 per-gallon price.
The dropping prices are at least in part due to lower demand, according to GasBuddy, and AAA’s Andrew Gross said last week “the clouds of war overseas are less dark at the moment and the Atlantic is quiet now too, which is taking pressure off of oil prices,” referring to a relative lull in hurricane activity recently.
Heading into the holiday weekend, prices are highest in Hawaii ($4.66), California ($4.61), Washington ($4.18) and Nevada ($3.97), according to AAA, and prices are lowest in Oklahoma ($2.89), Mississippi ($2.89), Texas ($2.95) and Tennessee ($2.96).
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Big Number
$750 million. That’s how much money GasBuddy expects Americans will save on gas over the Friday-through-Monday travel period compared to last year.
Contra
While gas prices are dropping, the national average kilowatt-per-hour cost for Level 2 commercial charging of electric cars—commonly used in homes and public charging stations—has remained steady for about a month, AAA reported on Aug. 22, at which point the national average for a kilowatt of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station was 34 cents. As of AAA’s latest update, the most expensive states for commercial charging are Hawaii (56 cents), West Virginia (45 cents) and South Dakota (43 cents), while the least expensive states are Kansas (21 cents), Missouri (24 cents) and Delaware (25 cents).
Surprising Fact
The lowest price-per-gallon cost of gas over Labor Day weekend in the last decade was $2.20 in 2016, followed by $2.22 in 2020. In 2016, prices quickly dropped after it was clear that Hurricane Hermine would not impact gas production in Gulf Coast refineries, AAA reported. In 2020, gas prices around Labor Day were low because of the COVID-19 pandemic causing many to work from home and not travel, leading to low demand.
What To Watch For
If gas prices continue to drop through the fall. GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said in a press release that this year is “perhaps the best opportunity in years for the national average to fall below $3 per gallon.” He said as we get closer to Thanksgiving, tens of thousands of stations should fall below $3 because of lower seasonal demand and less expensive winter gasoline.
Further Reading
ForbesLabor Day Gas Surge? Prices Near Record Weekend—And Experts Warn They Could Keep ClimbingBy Brian BushardGasBuddyGas Prices Cool Off Ahead of Labor Day, Could Fall Below $3 This Fall