Ten States With the Cheapest Gas

By Trey Thoelcke Published May 25, 10:40AM EDT

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Gasoline prices at the pump seemed to be fairly stable ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, according to an Energy Information Administration report released early last week. It had the national average price for regular gasoline pegged at $3.665 per gallon. And GasBuddy now puts the national average at $3.634, up from $3.626 a week ago, but down from $3.663 a year ago.

More than 36 million people are expected to hit the road in the United States this long, holiday weekend. That means a lot of tanks will need to be filled up.

The day before Memorial Day, GasBuddy lists the following as the 10 states with the lowest average price for a gallon of regular.

Oklahoma, $3.371
Louisiana, $3.375
Arkansas, $3.377
Mississippi, $3.382
Montana, $3.392
Colorado, $3.403
Kansas, $3.413
New Mexico, $3.415
Missouri, $3.421
Texas, $3.430

Many of the states with the cheapest gas, not surprisingly, have a great deal of refining capacity of their own, or are in close proximity to states that have high capacity. Texas and Louisiana have the largest and second-largest refining capacities in the country, respectively. Many of the nation’s largest refineries can be found near the Gulf of Mexico.

However, oil-producing states like North Dakota, with its huge shale deposits, do not benefit because they are too far away from refineries.

The regional cost of living is another factor that may potentially affect the cost of gas. Last year, the Council for Community and Economic Research found that the relative cost of consumer goods in states with cheaper gas is lower than the U.S. average. Mississippi, which has the fourth lowest average gas prices, had the lowest overall cost of living in the nation.

The weather is nice and economic conditions are improving. Unemployment has not been lower in five years. Gross domestic product has improved, at least in most recent quarters. And millions of Americans have new cars. Why would they leave them in the garage?
ALSO READ: Gas Still Over $4 in California

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.