The average price of a gallon of regular nationwide is $3.49, down from $3.66 just a month ago. But in nine cities, the price has dropped below $3.20, according to price research site GasBuddy. And it is falling, providing hope that $3 gas is within sight. With lower gasoline prices comes a hope for help to a rapidly improving economy.

Most of the nine cities are near large refineries or oil fields, which offer the advantage of proximity to supply. The city with the lowest price is Lubbock, Texas, at $3.01. It may be the first large metro area in which gas drops below $3, a place it has not been for years.

Two of the cities are in South Carolina, the state in which gas prices are the lowest. The average price per gallon of regular in Spartanburg is $3.14 and in Greenville $3.16. The other city in the east where gas prices are low is Roanoke, Va., at $3.19

The rest of the low gas price cities are clustered around the oil supplies in and near the central southern states and close to the refineries on the Gulf Coast. These include Montgomery, Ala., at $3.16; Tulsa, Okla., at $3.17; Oklahoma City at $3.19; Topeka, Kan., at $3.19; and Chattanooga, Tenn., at $3.14.

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One theory about gas prices is that as they drop, they help the national economy. People, particularly those who live in lower- and middle-class households, have little discretionary income beyond housing, clothing, food and energy. Low gas prices free up some of their income, most likely very little. But even a modest contribution in a consumer-driven economy helps gross domestic product.

What works nationally in terms of gas prices might apply locally as well. If so, many of the cities that have had considerable gas price relief could use a great deal of help. They are among the cities with the lowest median household incomes. The national average is just above $50,000. However, in Lubbock the figure is just above $32,000. In Montgomery the number is a little more than $37,000, and Tulsa barely higher at just above $38,000. As a matter of fact, in most of the cities with low gas prices, the median household income is below the national average.

Lower gas prices may help the entire national economy. For the time being, a few of the cities that need the most relief in terms of cost of living are waking up with prices that are well below the national average, and for the most part still falling.

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