LIHU‘E — In a result that should surprise no one who has ever filled up their gas tank on one of the Hawaiian Islands, the state of Hawai‘i continues to hold the dubious distinction of being the most expensive place in the country to fuel up.
The price of a gallon of gas in Hawai‘i averaged $4.88 per gallon as of March 1, 2023, which was up 6.8 percent from the same period a year earlier. California ranked second at $4.79 per gallon, followed by Nevada at $4.27, Washington at $4.23 and Colorado at $4.03.
The results were put forth by LendingTree researchers, who analyzed AAA data on average regular gas prices in states and metropolitan areas on March 1, 2022, and March 1, 2023.
One of the factors for higher gas prices in certain states was demand, but there were other considerations.
“While access certainly plays a role in gas prices in Hawai‘i, California has some of the highest gas tax rates and strictest environmental regulations in the country,” said LendingTree Chief Credit Analyst Matt Schulz in a statement that accompanied the findings.
The rise in gas prices among the top five states came amid a decrease of 7.2 percent nationwide in the same period. Overall, the lowest average gas price in the nation was recorded in Texas at $2.91 per gallon, the results showed. Mississippi ranked second at $2.96, followed by Kentucky at $2.97, Missouri at $2.99 and South Carolina at $3.00.
States with the largest percentage drop offs in the period were South Carolina, where the average price of gas plunged 13.7 percent. Connecticut ranked second with a 13.3 percent reversal, followed by Delaware at 13 percent, New Jersey at 12.6 percent and Tennessee at 12.40 percent.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
Lately the cost of both WTI & Brent continues to drop substantially on the international market. This may be reflected ‘someday’ in our state prices for gas. However it remains unknown why Kauai is always about 50 cents higher than the other islands regardless of the price of crude. And even Kona, being further from the source on Oahu than we are, is at least 25 cents lower than Kauai. Why?
Can anything be done about it? Who regulates this? No one apparently as we continue to sit here decade after decade with this pricing anomaly.