U.S. gas average tops $4.50

AAA listed the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline at $4.533 on Tuesday, May 19, as drivers headed into Memorial Day week. The figure was up from $3.180 a year earlier, according to AAA’s fuel-price tracker. NBC’s TODAY reported Monday that the national average had topped $4.50 a gallon ahead of the holiday weekend. AAA said last week that travelers were preparing to hit the road in record numbers while facing the highest Memorial Day gas prices in four years. ### Where does the national average stand right now? AAA’s daily tracker showed the U.S. average for regular gasoline at $4.533 on May 19. The same tracker showed $4.515 on May 18, indicating prices remained above the $4.50 level cited in Monday’s television report. AAA’s historical comparison on its May 14 update put the one-year-ago national average at $3.180. (gasprices.aaa.com) The May 14 AAA market update said the national average had dipped earlier in the week and then started rising again. That update also said crude oil prices were hovering around $100 a barrel, while pump prices remained elevated. ### How much higher is that than last Memorial Day? (gasprices.aaa.com) AAA’s archived Memorial Day coverage from 2025 said the national average for that holiday weekend was $3.08 a gallon. Compared with Tuesday’s $4.533 average, that is about $1.45 higher. The TODAY report described the current national average as roughly $1.30 above Memorial Day 2025 levels. (newsroom.aaa.com) AAA’s May 14 update used a different year-over-year benchmark, showing the national average at $3.180 one year earlier. On that basis, Tuesday’s price was about $1.35 higher than the same point last year. ### What are drivers in New York seeing? AAA’s state averages page listed New York at $4.611 a gallon for regular gasoline on May 19. (aol.com) That was above the national average and above neighboring New Jersey’s $4.505 average, according to the same tracker. Pennsylvania was listed at $4.636. AOL, citing AAA data, reported Monday that New York drivers were facing the highest Memorial Day gas prices in four years. (gasprices.aaa.com) The report said New York City averaged $4.67, White Plains $4.72 and Buffalo $4.59. ### Why are prices still elevated before the holiday? AAA said on May 14 that crude oil near $100 a barrel was keeping pressure on retail gasoline prices. (gasprices.aaa.com) The group also said gasoline demand had slipped in the latest weekly Energy Information Administration data, falling from 8.81 million barrels a day to 8.75 million, but that had not produced sustained relief at the pump. (aol.com) The same AAA update said the national average was trading in the same range as 2022, when gas prices hit record highs. That comparison came as road-trip traffic was expected to rise into the Memorial Day break. ### What should drivers watch next? AAA updates its national and state fuel averages each day on its gas-price tracker. (gasprices.aaa.com) The next key marker is Memorial Day weekend itself, when AAA has said road travelers will face the highest holiday gas prices in four years. (gasprices.aaa.com)