Friday’s price is three cents higher than the cost for a gallon of regular gas compared to last week when it was $3.034. It is also higher than a month ago when regular gas was $3.037 per gallon. 

Despite the recent increases, gas prices have decreased significantly from previous highs, particularly in the spring and summer of 2024. Overall, the national average cost for a gallon of regular gas is the lowest since May 2021, when the average price was $2.985 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, prices have been slightly trending in the wrong direction in the last couple of weeks.

Gas prices have been a controversial political topic for most of the time President Joe Biden has been in office. Less than six months after his term began, gas prices increased significantly in June 2021, reaching record-high averages of over $4 per gallon. After setting the highest national average in the country’s history in 2022, gas prices began to fall. The national average for fuel costs fluctuated significantly over the next two years but remained higher than during President Donald Trump’s first term. After hitting a high for the year in April 2024, prices started to gradually decline in May. 

Moreover, while the national average for regular gas is $3.067, gas prices vary across the country, depending on the state. Prices range from under $2.55 to over $4.50 per gallon. Hawaii has the highest national average cost for a gallon of gas, at $4.543. Oklahoma has the cheapest gas prices in the country, at $2.573 per gallon. 

At the start of the new year, fuel costs in the Delmarva region are higher than the national average — except gas prices in Virginia.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Virginia on Friday is $2.939. This is much lower than Washington, D.C., and the surrounding states. In the nation’s capital on Friday, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas is $3.201 – the highest in the area. Maryland has the next highest gas price, at $3.121 per gallon. A week ago, gas in the state was only $2.899 per gallon. In Delaware, the state with the cheapest gas in the area before Christmas with a price of $2.751 per gallon, a gallon of regular gas now costs $3.081.

To view the current gas prices in other states throughout the country, click here.