With summer vacation season more than halfway over, you may be thinking about squeezing in one last road trip before school starts again. Sure, the weather has been unbelievably hot and humid throughout much of the country, and the thought of braving the heat when you're not in an air-conditioned car might not sound particularly appealing, but it's not like air travel has been much better.
So where do we stand when it comes to gas prices? According to recent report from the American Automobile Association (AAA), a gallon of gas costs a nationwide average of $3.50: Six cents more than a month ago, but six cents less than a year ago.
"A record number of travelers were forecast to hit the highways for the July 4 holiday, but since then, they appear to be staying off the road, and the recent scorching heat is possibly to blame," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in the report. "Maybe things will pick up soon.”
Whether you're planning a road trip and want to take fuel costs into account, or are simply curious about which parts of the country have the cheapest gas, here are the top 10 states with the most and least expensive gas, according to AAA.
The states with the most expensive gas
The top 10 most expensive markets for gasoline in the United States, and the average cost per gallon in each state are:
California ($4.71)
Hawaii ($4.69)
Washington ($4.26)
Nevada ($3.99)
Oregon ($3.98)
Alaska ($3.85)
Illinois ($3.83)
Washington DC ($3.71)
Pennsylvania ($3.66)
New York ($3.62)
The states with the least expensive gas
The top 10 least expensive markets for gasoline in the United States, and the average cost per gallon in each state are:
Mississippi ($2.99)
Louisiana ($3.10)
Texas ($3.12)
Oklahoma ($3.14)
Tennessee ($3.14)
Arkansas ($3.14)
Kansas ($3.16)
Alabama ($3.17)
South Carolina ($3.22)
Missouri ($3.22)
To look up the current gas prices along a particular route, you can use the AAA TripTik Travel planner.