- Rising gas prices have risen to $7.29 in some parts of California
- That price per gallon is higher than the federal hourly minimum wage.
- Other parts of the U.S. have also fallen victim to rising fuel costs.
Rising gas prices have skyrocketed to a whopping $7.29 per gallon in some parts of California, which is above the current national hourly minimum wage.
While the average price of a gallon of gas varies from state to state, drivers in a certain Silicon Valley city face particularly exorbitant rates that cost them nearly $150 for a full tank.
The Chevron gas station in Menlo Park was exposed Sunday by a bewildered customer who posted on X that the price per gallon was four cents “above the federal hourly minimum wage.”
The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25, while in California it was set at $16 at the beginning of the year. Fast food workers received a $20 raise in April.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California is $5.423, making it by far the most expensive state to fill up your gas tank, with the highest price reaching at least $7.29.
Hawaii comes in second, with an average price of $4,803, closely followed by Washington ($4,656), Nevada ($4,615), and Oregon ($4,428).
The only other states with averages above $4 are Alaska ($4,370) and Arizona ($4,112).
West Coast states have much higher gas prices because drivers pay some of the highest state fuel taxes in the country, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.
Southern states average much lower gas prices. Mississippi has the lowest average price per gallon at $3,098 and its neighbors Alabama ($3,263), Louisiana ($3,166), Arkansas ($3,223) and Tennessee ($3,272) are among some of the cheapest places to buy gasoline.
Gasoline prices in Midwestern states range on the lower end of the price spectrum, with Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota falling between the national retail price range of $3,415 to $3,292.
In March, motorists were reported to be facing an average of $52 to fill up a tank of gas after prices at the pump soared to $3.48 per gallon.
Gas costs are higher than they were a year ago, after months of being on a steady downward trajectory.
It comes after fuel was identified as a key driver of inflation, which proved unexpectedly difficult in 2024.
AAA figures show the national average price of regular gasoline rose to $3.48 a gallon, up from $3.45 a year ago. This means that filling a 15-gallon fuel tank would cost $52.20.
Costs at the pump have increased due to recent drone attacks on oil refineries in Russia, which in turn has boosted gasoline and oil prices.
In March, motorists were reported to be facing an average of $52 to fill up a tank of gas after prices at the pump soared to $3.48 per gallon.
And it is the first time that gas prices increase year over year in 2024.
AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said of the price rise: ‘This is the time of year when we typically see pump prices start to rise.
“And although prices have been quite low so far, they should start to accelerate and go up very soon.”
Costs at the pump have increased due to recent drone attacks on oil refineries in Russia, which in turn have boosted gasoline and oil prices.
Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, said cnn: ‘It seems pretty clear that the Ukrainians have discovered that the best way to attack Vladimir Putin is to attack him in his wallet.
‘That means destroying the refineries. “It’s a wild card that we’ve never had to deal with before.”
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), gas prices shot up 4.3 percent between January and February.
Inflation is proving to be one of the most contentious issues facing President Biden’s reelection bid.
But Mukesh Sahdev, head of oil trading and downstream research at Rystad Energy AS, warned that gas prices could still hit a multi-year high.
He recently said Bloomberg: ‘There’s not much President Biden can do in time for the election, if this happens.
“Strategic oil reserves are low and there are few levers the US government can use to lower gasoline prices.”