However, Gopher State has seen the 6th lowest increase in the nation in average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline over the past year; Wisconsin 3rd lowest and Iowa 5th lowest

With the holidays upon us, many Minnesotans will, weather permitting, be traveling across the state and country to meet up with family once again.

For those traveling long distances by automobile, the price at the pump will be quite a bit steeper compared to one year ago.

However, a Smart Politics analysis of data provided by AAA finds that the average price of a gallon of gas in the State of Minnesota is cheaper than many states across the nation, and the rate of increase from a year ago has been one of the lowest in the country.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.50 in Minnesota on Monday, which was the 16th lowest in the country and the lowest in the Upper Midwest region.

Iowa currently has the 17th lowest price ($2.52), followed by Wisconsin at #24 ($2.56), South Dakota at #31 ($2.59), and North Dakota at #36 ($2.63).

Missouri has the lowest price in the nation at $2.37 per gallon, with Alaska the highest at $3.37.

Gas prices have soared across the country from a year ago, although Minnesotans are enduring one of the smallest rates of increase nationwide. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Gopher State was $1.67 one year ago. The 49.4 percent increase to today’s price of $2.50 is the sixth lowest in the USA.

Neighboring states of Wisconsin (#3) and Iowa (#5) are also enjoying some of the lowest rates of increase in a gallon of gas over the past year. Gas prices have risen only 45.4 percent in Wisconsin (from $1.76 to $2.56) and 47.8 percent in Iowa (from $1.70 to $2.52) over the past 365 days.

Alaska and Hawaii, which have the highest prices of gasoline in the country, had the lowest rates of increase over the past year, at 28.7 percent and 38.7 percent respectively. Utah has had the highest rate of increase at 74.4 percent.

And for those Minnesotans giving their vehicles the “good stuff,” the cost of gasoline is even a better deal than what most of the country is paying at the pump.

· The average cost statewide of a gallon of premium gasoline is just $2.66 in Minnesota – tied for the fourth lowest in the nation with Texas, behind Missouri ($2.61), Oklahoma ($2.63), and Kansas ($2.65).
· The $0.16 price differential in Minnesota between a gallon of regular and premium gas in the Gopher State is tied with Kansas for the second lowest in the nation – behind only Nebraska ($0.13).
· The average cost of mid-grade gasoline in Minnesota is $2.59 per gallon – the 10th lowest in the nation.

Lowest Rate of Increase in the Average Price of a Gallon of Regular Unleaded Gasoline by State

Rank
State
12/21/08
12/21/09
% Change
1
Alaska
$2.622
$3.374
28.68
2
Hawaii
$2.391
$3.317
38.73
3
Wisconsin
$1.759
$2.558
45.42
4
New York
$1.916
$2.831
47.76
5
Iowa
$1.704
$2.518
47.77
6
Minnesota
$1.670
$2.495
49.40
7
West Virginia
$1.782
$2.670
49.83
8
Maine
$1.780
$2.671
50.06
9
Nebraska
$1.719
$2.600
51.25
10
Pennsylvania
$1.742
$2.635
51.26
11
Illinois
$1.741
$2.634
51.29
12
Oklahoma
$1.585
$2.411
52.11
13
Georgia
$1.599
$2.437
52.41
14
North Dakota
$1.723
$2.633
52.81
15
Michigan
$1.663
$2.550
53.34
16
Connecticut
$1.806
$2.770
53.38
17
Kentucky
$1.647
$2.528
53.49
18
Vermont
$1.744
$2.681
53.73
19
South Dakota
$1.685
$2.593
53.89
20
Colorado
$1.598
$2.461
54.01
21
Louisiana
$1.594
$2.459
54.27
22
Nevada
$1.777
$2.743
54.36
23
Florida
$1.703
$2.632
54.55
24
New Hampshire
$1.661
$2.573
54.91
25
Alabama
$1.586
$2.462
55.23
26
Massachusetts
$1.682
$2.613
55.35
27
Rhode Island
$1.718
$2.670
55.41
28
Arkansas
$1.567
$2.437
55.52
29
Maryland
$1.649
$2.565
55.55
30
Kansas
$1.595
$2.482
55.61
31
D.C.
$1.771
$2.756
55.62
32
Oregon
$1.733
$2.702
55.91
33
North Carolina
$1.638
$2.554
55.92
34
Indiana
$1.628
$2.540
56.02
35
Delaware
$1.619
$2.527
56.08
36
New Mexico
$1.660
$2.594
56.27
37
Ohio
$1.643
$2.568
56.30
38
Mississippi
$1.559
$2.442
56.64
39
Texas
$1.550
$2.429
56.71
40
Washington
$1.777
$2.789
56.95
41
Virginia
$1.584
$2.491
57.26
42
South Carolina
$1.544
$2.430
57.38
43
Tennessee
$1.552
$2.447
57.67
44
Missouri
$1.499
$2.372
58.24
45
Arizona
$1.619
$2.590
59.98
46
New Jersey
$1.555
$2.489
60.06
47
California
$1.796
$2.913
62.19
48
Wyoming
$1.465
$2.421
65.26
49
Montana
$1.531
$2.543
66.10
50
Idaho
$1.532
$2.584
68.67
51
Utah
$1.467
$2.559
74.44

Source: Data compiled from AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

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4 Comments

  1. being goode on December 21, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    It’s nice to have a military to help subsidize the cost of our fuels. When you add up all the external costs that it takes to bring the fuel to our shores its a figure that is far higher than what we pay at the pump.

  2. Alexander Faust on December 23, 2009 at 2:17 am

    I wish we could do more research on alternative fuel.

  3. ygs on April 17, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    When you add up all the external costs that it takes to bring the fuel to our shores its a figure that is far higher than what we pay at the pump.

  4. Evilcommander on March 2, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    Alternate fuel is only solution, lets save earth by saving fuel

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