The national average price for regular gas on Tuesday was $3.14 per gallon.
The price represents a decrease in fuel costs compared to a week ago, when it was $3.163. It was a negligible increase from Monday when the cost for a gallon of regular gas was $3.138, according to AAA. Fuel costs are also less expensive today than a month ago, when a gallon of regular gas was $3.157. And, gas prices today are substantially lower than a year ago, when regular gas was $3.443 per gallon.
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The lower prices are part of the difference between gas prices during President Donald Trump’s term and gas prices under former President Joe Biden. Fuel costs have been considerably cheaper since Trump took office. Gas prices this summer have also remained steady, avoiding the summer gas price hike that traditionally happens after Memorial Day Weekend in May during summer driving season.
According to several analyses, the main reason for the current steady gas pricing is that crude oil prices have hovered around $65 per barrel, according to AAA. The national average cost for a gallon of gas has remained slightly above $3.13 and below $3.17 over the last month. July ended with an average of $3.15 per gallon, the least expensive July average for gas prices since 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In July 2024, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.60. In 2023, fuel costs were higher at $3.712 per gallon. In July 2022, gas prices were near record highs, the second-highest in the country’s history, at $4.668. Comparatively, in July 2021, the average cost for gas was $3.23.
Since the surge in average gas prices that happened when Biden was president, most fuel cost analyses have suggested that $3 per gallon is a reasonable cost for evaluating fuel cost affordability in the United States. With the price of gas decreasing in recent months, the number of states averaging less than $3 per gallon has increased. However, that has changed a few times over the last month.
On June 27, 17 states had average prices under $3. By June 30, that total had reached 21 states. In early July, it dropped to 20 states. In mid-July, it increased again to 22 states. On the penultimate day of July, it was back to 23 states, the most states with average gas prices under $3 per gallon since summer began. After a few days of increases, it dropped to 18 states earlier this month. Currently, there are 20 states with average gas prices under $3 per gallon.
In the U.S., different regions have different gas prices, sometimes substantially. The area of the country with the least expensive average gas prices is on or near the Gulf Coast. Conversely, those states with the most expensive average statewide gas prices are located on the West Coast.
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Mississippi has had the cheapest gas prices in the country for most of 2025. Next is Oklahoma, which, while not a state on the Gulf Coast, borders Texas on the coast. Gas prices in Oklahoma are $2.72. Texas is next, at $2.753, followed by Louisiana, at $2.755 per gallon, and Tennessee, at $2.769.
California has the most expensive gas prices in the country, with a statewide average of $4.497 per gallon. Hawaii is next at $4.462, followed by Washington at $4.413. Oregon is the state with the fourth-highest gas prices in the country, at $3.996 per gallon. Finally, Alaska, the largest state in the country, has an average regular gas cost of $3.773 per gallon.