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Prices rising fast: See the cost of a gallon of gas in all 67 counties in Alabama

March 13, 2022

Gas prices just keep going up.

Alabama has seen one of the fastest rates of increase in the nation for the price of a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline, according to data from AAA. The state reached an all-time high earlier this week, and the record keeps falling.

As of Friday, the average Alabamian would have to shell out $4.16 for a gallon – three cents more than the previous day. The cost of a gallon is up more than 50 cents in the last week and up nearly a dollar over the last four weeks. As of Friday, gas in Alabama was $1.57 more per gallon than it was this time last year. That means filling up your tank could cost as much as $20 more now than it did a year ago.

Alabama’s gas prices are rising in step with the rest of the nation, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has joined with already rising prices for many consumer goods to create a perfect storm at the pump.

[Can’t see the chart? Click here.]

Federal data from the US Energy Information Administration shows just how big an increase in prices consumers have seen in over the last few weeks. EIA data shows the national weekly average cost for a gallon at the start of this week was $4.10 – dangerously close to the all-time record since data has been tracked. The record is $4.11 a gallon, set back in July of 2008.

Data from AAA shows that record is likely to fall soon. AAA data, which updates daily, shows the national average at $4.33 as of Friday. That’s well higher than the all-time weekly high as tracked by the Energy Information Administration.

And some states are seeing much higher average prices.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in California was a whopping $5.72 cents as of Friday, and many West Coast states were leading the list for the most expensive gallons.

[Can’t see the map? Click here.]

But gas was already expensive in many of those areas, and in Alabama and several other states, prices started lower and are climbing much faster.

Alabama’s average gas prices have increased by 15% in the last week, 29% in the last month and a staggering 61% in the last year. All of those rates rank inside the top 10 in the nation, with the 29% monthly increase tied for first.

county-by-county look

There’s a sizable gap in average gas prices when you drill down to the county level, according to AAA’s data. As of Friday there was a difference of nearly 30 cents between the state’s most expensive and least expensive gallons.

Residents of many rural counties are paying more for gas. Six of the seven counties with the most expensive gallons are in the Black Belt, one of the poorest regions in the state.

Bibb County, which is included in the Black Belt in some definitions, leads the state at $4.30 per gallon. Meanwhile, Marengo County, which is also in the Black Belt, averaged $4.03 per gallon as of Friday, the cheapest price in Alabama.

[Can’t see the map? Click here.]

Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Email Ramsey Archibald at rarchibald@al.comand follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.

Prices rising fast: See the cost of a gallon of gas in all 67 counties in Alabama

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