--- title: Gas Prices Are Under $3 — and Could Be Even Lower by Christmas description: An average gallon of gas now costs $2.97 in the U.S. The last time gas prices were this low? May 2021, more than 1,300 days ago. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-12-11T16:16:11.000Z' modified: '2025-04-15T22:15:08.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 415 canonical: https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Close-up of a person filling their car with gasoline at a gas pump](https://img.money.com/2024/12/News-Gas-Prices-Drop-Bellow-3.jpg) The national average cost of a gallon of gas has fallen to the lowest level in years as gas prices have finally dropped under $3. An average gallon of gas now costs $2.97 in the U.S., price tracking app GasBuddy said in a [report](https://www.gasbuddy.com/go/national-average-drops-below-3-first-time-in-1308-days) Monday. The last time gas prices were this low? May 2021, more than 1,300 days ago. Citing "seasonal weakness in demand" and oil prices under $70 per barrel, Patrick De Haan, the GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis, said in the report that drivers will likely see more affordable gas prices into the holiday season. He predicts "the national average potentially falling another 10 to 15 cents by Christmas." ## Make sure that you're not over paying for Car Insurance ### Click your state to get matched to a top ranked Car Insurance provider in your area. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/a299d667867e?ap_referrer=%2Fgas-prices-under-3-dollars%2F) But don’t schedule your cross-country road trip just yet: Not all gas price trackers show gas dipping under $3 per gallon. On Wednesday, auto club AAA reported a [national average](https://gasprices.aaa.com/) of $3.02. While prices are now below $2.50 at many of the country's cheapest gas stations, drivers in the priciest states will be lucky to find gas prices under $3. Average prices are $4.48 in Hawaii, $4.29 in California and $3.91 in Washington. Regional differences in gas prices are influenced by state tax rates and access to gasoline supply. ## Who gets the credit for lower gas prices? The national average peaked at an all-time high in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting disruptions to global oil supply. Compared to that $5.01 [record high](https://money.com/federal-gas-tax-holiday-save-money/) for U.S. gas prices, the current average is now over $2 lower. GasBuddy said other factors contributing to lower prices included improvements in U.S. refining capacity and the higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve, which are aimed at slowing inflation. Higher rates make borrowing money more expensive, which can slow economic activity and lead to less demand for oil (aka cheaper prices at the pump). Average gas prices falling below $3 marks a significant milestone and offers more evidence that the worst of the country’s inflation problems are in the past. In fact, lawmakers may attempt to score political points for lower pump prices this December. As noted in [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2024/12/09/gas-prices-us-average-lowest-biden), President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on bringing down gas prices, saying he could get the cost below $2 in speeches leading up to the November election. However, De Haan said in a [tweet](https://x.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1866239561606865053) that "Trump has absolutely nothing to do with prices today. None." ## One of the best ways to pay less for Car Insurance is by comparing rates ### Click below to begin finding your rate today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/i86244fe9d5c?ap_referrer=%2Fgas-prices-under-3-dollars%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gas Prices", "item": "https://money.com/gas-prices/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gas Prices Are Under $3 — and Could Be Even Lower by Christmas" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/", "name": "Gas Prices Are Under $3 — and Could Be Even Lower by Christmas", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-12-11T16:16:11.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-under-3-dollars/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-04-15T22:15:08.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Gas Prices Are Under $3 — and Could Be Even Lower by Christmas", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/12/News-Gas-Prices-Drop-Bellow-3.jpg", "width": 1521, "height": 1014, "caption": "News-Gas-Prices-Drop-Bellow-3" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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