Gasoline prices may be $1.83, based on an average gallon of regular nationwide. But they are over three times that in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where gas has hit $5.99 at one nearby Shell station, according to GasBuddy.

A few miles away, in Orlando, at a Suncoast Energy station, the price for a gallon of regular is $5.95.

The two locations in Florida are an anomaly. Most of the stations with among the highest gas prices in the United States are in and around the large cities in California, which has the highest among all states.

Twenty of the top 25 stations with highest gas price are in California. These cities include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks, Studio City and San Bruno.

That national average will go lower, probably much lower. Crude oil prices have dropped to $30. A year ago, the price was nearly $65 a barrel.
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One main reason for the drop in gasoline prices is the sea of available oil, due in part to a flood from Saudi Arabia, and perhaps to falling demand as the global economy slows. Despite the loud protests of other OPEC members, the kingdom said it will keep pumping.

Oil inventory is not the only factor. Proximity to refineries is also an issue. The average gas price in Louisiana is $1.67. In Oklahoma it is $1.57 and in Texas $1.55. All are near the huge refineries south of Houston and the Gulf of Mexico, which is dotted by deepwater oil drilling platforms.

Gasoline taxes by state are another factor. The average nationwide is $0.48 per gallon. In Oklahoma it is $0.35. But in Ohio the number is $0.46, evidence that parts of the state are in the midst of a price war.

California has the fifth highest gas tax in the United States at $0.59. Gas prices there are not likely to drop below those in almost any other state.

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