The new year began with another day of decreases at the pumps as the national average price for regular gasoline dropped to $2.833 per gallon.
The latest price marked a decrease of 23 cents per gallon compared to New Year’s Day in 2025, according to AAA, when Joe Biden was president of the United States. The pricing on Jan. 1 was less expensive than the last day of 2025, when the national average price for regular gas was $2.839. Pricing was also cheaper than a week ago, when a gallon of regular gas cost $2.847, and a month ago, when it averaged $3.001.
Moreover, current gas prices are at their cheapest levels since the week of March 8, 2021, when a gallon of gas averaged $2.771 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Also, 40 states in the U.S. currently have average prices less than $3 per gallon, according to AAA.
There are 10 states with average gas prices of less than $2.50 per gallon, and seven states with prices of less than $2.45 per gallon. Notably, of the 11 remaining areas with gas prices over $3 per gallon, 10 states plus Washington, D.C., eight have Democratic governors, or a mayor in the case of Washington, D.C.
After weeks of flirting with a $ 3-per-gallon price point, gas prices began a rapid decline in October. On Oct. 2, the national average price for a gallon of gas was $3.16. By the end of the month, gas prices dropped to $3.04 per gallon. After fluctuating fuel prices under the $3 per gallon threshold throughout November, the national average gas prices fell under $3 for the first time since 2021 on Dec. 2.
Fuel costs have continued falling ever since. During the last week of December, gas prices broke the $2.90-per-gallon barrier and continued to decline. On Christmas Eve, prices fell to $2.854 per gallon, and on Christmas, the national average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $2.847.
Oklahoma is the state with the lowest gas prices in the country, with an average price of $ 2.253 per gallon, according to AAA. Iowa has the next lowest gas prices at $2.37. Colorado is next at $2.376 per gallon, followed by Arkansas at $2.41 and Texas at $2.437.
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Hawaii has the most expensive gas prices in the country, significantly higher than the national average, at $4.415 per gallon. California is next at $4.266 per gallon. These two states, both with Democratic governors, are the last two states in the U.S. with average gas prices over $4 per gallon.
Washington state is next with an average of $3.857 per gallon, followed by Alaska with a state average of $3.55. Oregon has the 5th least-expensive gas prices in the U.S., with an average of $3.424 per gallon.