D.C. drivers buy some expensive gas, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon, AAA Mid-Atlantic warns.
The average price of gas in D.C. is $3.54 per gallon, compared with $3.30 in Virginia and $3.37 in Maryland, according to AAA. The national average is $3.41.
Ten states outdo D.C.’s high prices: Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Alaska, Washington, California, Connecticut, Oregon, Illinois and Montana.
| Paying at the pump | |
| Average price per gallon currently for regular gasoline: | |
| » District | $3.54 |
| » Maryland | $3.37 |
| » Virginia | $3.30 |
| » Nation | $3.41 |
| Source: AAA Mid-Atlantic | |
The high prices come at a time when Americans are likely to spend more on gas this year than ever before — Americans are on track to spend 8.4 percent of their household income on gas in 2011, beating out the high 7.9 percent rate in 2008 and last year’s rate of 6.7 percent, according to the Oil Price Information Service. That means that Americans will spend $50 more per month on gas in 2011 than in 2010.
And gas prices at $3.41 are unusually high for November, which usually sees a drop in prices with the onset of winter and the end of the summer travel season. Gas this time last year cost $2.86 per gallon; only November 2007 came close to this month with an average of $3.07 a gallon.
Pump prices are still going up. They climbed Tuesday for the first time in six days after retail sales increased last month, Bloomberg reported.
“American consumers, including District residents, are on track to spend a record $490 billion on gasoline by year’s end, topping the record $488 billion spent in 2008,” AAA Mid-Atlantic’s John Townsend said.
But some say D.C. gas prices are high only because a handful of stations inflate D.C.’s averages.
The Exxon station at the intersection of Virginia Avenue Northwest and the Rock Creek Parkway near the Watergate complex, for example, sells gasoline about $1 more per gallon than other stations around the region. On Tuesday night, the station was charging $4.49 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com, compared with a city low of $3.29 at the Shell station at New Hampshire Avenue and Eastern Avenue Northeast.
