AAA: Ky gas price drops below $3 a gallon

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After idling over the Labor Day weekend, the national average for a gallon of gas resumed its pace of daily declines by falling 6 cents since last week to $3.29. Meanwhile, Kentucky closed out the summer travel season by dropping below the $3 mark for a gallon of regular.

Around the commonwealth, the highest county-level average gas price can be found in Menifee County at $3.48. The cheapest county-wide average price of gasoline in the commonwealth can again be found in Simpson County at $2.65, among nearly 70 counties now averaging below the $3 mark.

Key contributors are low gas demand and the plunging cost of oil, which has dipped below $70 a barrel. 

“There are now 11 states with gasoline averages below $3 a gallon, which means thousands of retail outlets in much of the Midwest and South selling gas at similarly low prices,” says Lori Weaver Hawkins, public affairs manager, AAA Blue Grass “While typically September is a peak month for hurricanes, we’ve see this year’s hurricane season remain weak and disorganized, which makes it more likely the trend of falling pump prices will continue.”  

With an estimated 1.2 million AAA members living in households with one or more electric vehicles, AAA now tracks the kilowatt-per-hour cost for Level 2 (L2) commercial charging by state. AAA members are 28% more likely than the US adult population overall to have an electric vehicle.

Today’s national average for a kilowatt of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station is 34 cents. In Kentucky, the average cost for a kilowatt of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station is 41 cents. The commonwealth has 168 charging stations reporting and has the 9th highest average price per kW in the nation. 

“Falling gasoline demand and oil costs will likely keep pump prices sliding,” Weaver Hawkins adds.

Today’s national average for a gallon of gas fell a penny overnight to $3.29, making the current cost for a gallon of regular gasoline 17 cents less than a month ago and 51 cents less than a year ago.

In Kentucky, today’s average is down a penny overnight to $2.98, which is 10 cents lower than one week ago, 23 cents lower than a month ago and 49 cents less than a year ago. Kentucky rates 10th lowest among the 10 states currently boasting average prices below the $3 mark.

The average gas price in Lexington dropped a couple of pennies overnight, but is still hovering above the $3 mark, now at $3.09. Lexington’s current gas price average plummeted 17 cents from one week ago and 19 cents lower than a month ago. Today’s price is 42 cents lower than a year ago. 

Gas prices around the region

Checking elsewhere, the average price for a gallon of regular today in Ohio is at $3.13, West Virginia $3.20, Virginia $3.16, Indiana $3.31, Tennessee $2.86, Illinois $3.59 and Missouri $2.97. Missouri and Tennessee remains the only states bordering Kentucky with a lower gas price average. 

The highest gasoline average price in the country is California at $4.66, while Mississippi has the lowest average gas price, now at $2.82.

Quick Stats

The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are California ($4.66), Hawaii ($4.65), Washington ($4.16), Nevada ($3.99), Oregon ($3.76), Alaska ($3.73), Illinois ($3.59), Utah ($3.58), Idaho ($3.58), and Washington, D.C. ($3.54)

Compared to last Friday, the 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Mississippi ($2.82), Oklahoma ($2.86), Tennessee ($2.86), Alabama ($2.88), Louisiana ($2.89), Texas ($2.89), South Carolina ($2.91), Arkansas ($2.94), Missouri ($2.97), and Kentucky ($2.98).

GAS PRICES FROM AAA – September 6, 2024
Average per gallon of self-serve, regular

Gas prices provided by AAA, http://gasprices.aaa.com/