Gas Falls to $3.90 as North Carolina Pays $3.18 and Hawaii $5.64

• Regular gasoline averaged $3.90 a gallon nationwide on Nov. 12, about 19 cents lower than a week earlier, and July was the last month it sat under $4.
• Regular costs $3.18 a gallon in North Carolina, where the state gas tax is suspended through Nov. 30, and $5.64 in Hawaii, a $2.45 gap that adds up to $36.80 on a 15 gallon fill up.
• Cheaper winter blend gasoline, falling crude and lighter autumn demand pulled prices down, so compare AAA’s state page and nearby stations before the Thanksgiving drive.

Why a 15 Gallon Fill Up Costs $36.80 More in Hawaii Than in North Carolina

Regular gasoline slipped under $4 a gallon nationwide on Nov. 12. AAA’s release puts the national average at $3.90, and its daily price table shows $3.9081, down from $3.9429 the day before and $4.1003 a week earlier. A month ago the average stood at $4.3556, so a driver who fills a 15 gallon tank now pays $6.71 less than a month ago.

The relief varies by state. North Carolina is the cheapest state at $3.1831 a gallon for regular, 72.5 cents under the national figure. Hawaii is the dearest at $5.6362, $1.7281 above it, and California sits a fraction behind at $5.6349. The two sit 0.13 cent apart, and they are the only areas on the table above $5.

Run the numbers on a 15 gallon fill up, a size chosen for easy math rather than any one car. North Carolina costs $47.75, the national average $58.62, Hawaii $84.54 and California $84.52. The $36.80 between North Carolina and Hawaii is three quarters of a North Carolina tank, and a household that buys 60 gallons a month pays $147.19 more in Hawaii than it would in North Carolina.

AAA tracks 51 areas, the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. On Nov. 12, 32 of them sat under $4 for regular and 19 sat at or above it. Massachusetts, at $4.0213, is the first area over the line when the table is sorted from cheapest to dearest.

The Cheapest Gas Clusters in the South

The ten lowest averages for regular belong to nine Southern states and one Midwest state. North Carolina leads at $3.1831, followed by Texas at $3.3869, Georgia at $3.4067, South Carolina at $3.4556, Indiana at $3.4750, Oklahoma at $3.4948 and Louisiana at $3.4991. Tennessee ($3.5177), Alabama ($3.5457) and Arkansas ($3.5560) complete the list. Seven states sit under $3.50.

Two of those low prices come with a caveat. North Carolina suspended its 41 cent state motor fuel tax from Oct. 10 through Nov. 30, the state Department of Revenue confirms, and Georgia’s governor extended the suspension of its 33.3 cent gasoline tax through Nov. 30. When the breaks end, a 15 gallon fill up carries about $6.15 more tax in North Carolina and $5.00 more in Georgia if the full tax reaches the pump. AAA’s table does not separate the tax cut from other causes, so the ranking shows where gas is cheap today, not where it will stay cheapest.

The federal Energy Information Administration sees the same pattern at the regional level. Its Monday survey of Nov. 9 puts the Gulf Coast at $3.481 a gallon, the lowest of its regions, and the Lower Atlantic states at $3.609. The West Coast stands at $5.110, which leaves the Gulf Coast $1.629 a gallon under the Pacific side.

Border prices show how much a state line can change a receipt. South Carolina is 27.25 cents a gallon dearer than North Carolina, which comes to $4.09 on a 15 gallon fill up. Indiana, at $3.4750, is 85.42 cents under Illinois at $4.3292, a $12.81 difference on the same tank. Those figures are state averages, and a single station can sit well above or below its state’s number. Cities vary too: the EIA’s Nov. 9 survey has Houston at $3.489 and Los Angeles at $5.559, Chicago at $4.461 and Miami at $3.791, and Seattle at $5.070 against Denver at $3.642.

The West Coast Pays the Most, and Diesel Pays More Everywhere

After Hawaii and California, the next dearest areas are Nevada at $4.9676, Washington at $4.9068, Oregon at $4.5398 and Alaska at $4.5075. Illinois ($4.3292), Pennsylvania ($4.2926), Utah ($4.2265) and the District of Columbia ($4.2017) round out the top ten. Six areas average $4.50 or more.

The EIA’s West Coast reading of $5.110 falls to $4.584 once California is taken out, a $0.526 drop, so the premium on the Pacific side is largely a California premium. Across the state line, Nevada runs 66.73 cents under California, $10.01 on a 15 gallon tank. Washington drivers pay 36.70 cents more than Oregon drivers, or $5.51 per fill up.

Diesel is a separate market with its own spread. The national average for diesel is $6.0977 a gallon, $2.1896 above regular, down 15.87 cents on the week and 16.88 cents on the month. It remains 43 cents under the record of $6.5276 set on Sept. 22, 2026, and $2.3409 above the $3.7568 of a year ago, a 62.3 percent jump. Diesel supply was the subject of an earlier Motoring Chronicle report after refiners cut gasoline yield.

California tops the diesel table at $8.0383, followed by Hawaii at $7.2588, Washington at $7.0902 and Nevada at $6.7069. North Carolina is again cheapest at $5.3841, which leaves $2.6542 between the two ends. Indiana shows how fuel types diverge: its regular is the fifth cheapest in the country, yet its diesel at $6.5084 is higher than Illinois at $6.3984.

Midgrade and premium fell along with regular. Midgrade averages $4.4391 and premium $4.8334, which is 92.53 cents more than regular, or $13.88 on 15 gallons. E85 averages $3.0081, down from $3.3340 a month ago.

What Pulled Prices Down

AAA gives three reasons for the drop: crude oil prices have been falling, stations are now selling winter blend gasoline that costs less to produce, and gasoline demand eases in autumn. Even after the drop, the average sits above a normal level for the season, and AAA’s records show no November so far this costly.

The year over year comparison explains why a sub $4 headline does not feel like a bargain. Regular cost $3.0752 on this date last year, which puts today’s price 83.29 cents higher, a 27.1 percent rise, or $12.49 more on 15 gallons. The all time record for regular is still $5.0165 from June 14, 2022, and the current average is $1.1084 below it.

The EIA’s weekly survey shows where the biggest drops landed. Its national regular price fell from $4.269 on Oct. 26 to $4.153 on Nov. 2 and $3.995 on Nov. 9, a 27.4 cent slide in two weeks, and it stands 93.9 cents above the same week a year ago. The Midwest dropped 23.4 cents in the latest week and the Rocky Mountain states 26.7 cents. Colorado fell 32.2 cents to $3.746 and Ohio fell 32.2 cents to $3.768, while Denver lost 37.4 cents to reach $3.642. An earlier report covered Colorado’s sharp weekly drop as it began. The East Coast moved slowest of the five regions, down 8.9 cents.

The EIA’s national number differs from AAA’s number: the readings come from different days. The EIA figure is for Monday, Nov. 9 and includes all taxes; the AAA figure is for Thursday, Nov. 12.

What to Do Before You Fill Up

Start with the number for your own state. AAA’s State Gas Price Averages page lists regular, midgrade, premium and diesel for every state with a price date, and the same site offers a Gas Cost Calculator. Check both before a long drive, and look at the states you will cross, and the one you leave.

Compare prices only when the saving beats the cost of getting there. A 10 mile detour each way is 20 miles, which burns 0.8 gallon in a car that gets 25 miles per gallon, about $3.13 at the national average. A saving of 27 cents a gallon on a 15 gallon tank is $4.09, so the trip pays by roughly a dollar. A 10 cent saving does not pay at all.

Buy the grade the owner’s manual requires and no more. The premium over regular is 92.53 cents a gallon at the national average. Georgia and North Carolina end their tax breaks on Nov. 30, four days after Thanksgiving, and the tax returns to the pump price. The earlier report on how four states have paused gas taxes lists breaks that end between Nov. 30 and Jan. 2.

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26. The EIA publishes its next weekly update on Nov. 17, and AAA’s national table shows yesterday’s average beside today’s, so a driver planning a holiday trip can watch the direction for a week before filling up. The Nov. 12 reading of $3.9081 sat below the $3.9429 of the day before, so the slide had not stopped when the table was saved.

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Sources

• AAA Newsroom: For the First Time Since July, National Average Drops Below $4
• AAA Fuel Prices: State Gas Price Averages
• AAA Fuel Prices: National Average Gas Prices
• EIA: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar