It has been a long time since the price of an average gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 anywhere in the United States. The price is close to that in San Francisco, and based on the trend, it could breach that level soon.
The current price for an average gallon of regular in San Francisco is $2.90, according to GasBuddy. From the standpoint of gas prices in California, the San Francisco price is part of a trend. The 16 cities nationwide with the highest prices of gas are in California, and the state has the highest average price for gallon of regular across the 50 states at $2.77
The high gas prices in California are not clustered just around San Francisco. The Los Angeles average price is $2.83. In San Diego, the price is $2.79.
California has several problems that keep its gas at the high end of the U.S. range. The first, obviously, is crude prices. They have risen from $30 in January to $43 recently. In the most recent five days, they have spiked, driven primarily by speculation that the Saudis and other OPEC members have not reached a deal to cap production. Iran has openly refused to commit to terms for a cap.
Second, California is not near any large clusters of oil refineries. That means the cost of transport gets added to the base price of gas at the refinery. Based on its size, and the population of its huge cities, California is particularly gas hungry.
Finally, gas taxes and levies in the state are high by national standards. According to the American Petroleum Institute, the tax per a gallon of gas averages $0.5883 in California. The average among all states is $0.4804. At the far end of the spectrum, Alaska has a tax of only $0.3065.
As gas prices continue to rise, which is almost a sure thing, the San Francisco price will top $3 soon.
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