With only three weeks until summer officially starts, North Carolinians are currently enjoying gas prices that are significantly lower than the national average, even as we enter the first unofficial week of the season.
As of Thursday morning, data from the American Automobile Association shows the average price for unleaded regular gas in North Carolina is $3.31 per gallon, while the national average stands at $3.56. This represents a decrease of 5 cents from a month ago and an increase of 3 cents compared to the same time last year for the state. Nationally, prices have decreased by 7 cents from last month and 1 cent from last year.
For diesel fuel, North Carolinians are paying $3.84 per gallon, which is 3 cents less than the national average and 7 cents more than the price a year ago for the state.
Fourteen states currently have lower average prices for unleaded gas; 26 states have lower diesel prices.
This year, North Carolina imposes a gasoline tax of 40.5 cents per gallon, which is 2 cents higher than last year and ranks as the seventh-highest in the country. States with higher gas taxes include Pennsylvania (61 cents), California (54 cents), Washington (49 cents), Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey (each at 42 cents). North Carolina’s diesel tax stands at 40 cents per gallon, placing it 10th in the nation. States with higher diesel taxes include Pennsylvania (78 cents), Indiana (55 cents), Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington (each at 49 cents), Ohio (47 cents), Maryland (43 cents), and California (41 cents).
Among the 14 major metropolitan areas in North Carolina, unleaded gas is most affordable in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton region at $3.21 per gallon and most expensive in the Durham-Chapel Hill area at $3.41 per gallon. The cost of diesel is most consumer-friendly in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, at $3.71 per gallon.
With a population of 10.8 million, making it the ninth-largest state in the nation, North Carolina has approximately 8 million registered vehicles powered by combustion engines, either gas or diesel. The state also has around 80,000 registered zero-emission vehicles.
