Memorial Day Gas Prices Collapse to $3

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published May 20, 10:15AM EDT

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On Memorial Day, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide will be near $3.
That price could fall more by mid-summer, freeing up discretionary income for many Americans.
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Memorial Day Gas Prices Collapse to $3 — © 2windspa / iStock via Getty Images

On Memorial Day of 2022, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide was $4.60. This year, it will be a few cents above $3 and much lower than that in many parts of the country. Welcome to Memorial Day, when crude oil prices cratered.

Oil prices were so low in the spring of 2022 because the start of the Ukraine war had pushed crude prices from $76 a barrel at the start of the year to $110 in March. Russia was one of the largest oil producers in the world. There was a belief that sanctions would take much of that crude out of the global market.

Crude is plentiful today. At the start of 2025, the price per barrel was over $80, and early this month, it was $57. Supply from the United States is plentiful, particularly because of shale production. Overall, U.S. output is near record levels. OPEC+ has also increased production, led by Saudi Arabia. China’s economy is weak, and it is the largest importer of crude oil.

Gasoline prices could fall more during mid-summer. “This is a win for consumers. And if the stars align later this summer, we could even see the national average drop below $3 a gallon,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis.

AAA recently released its Memorial Day travel forecast. A total of 45.1 million Americans will travel, 39.4 million of them by car. The organization stated, “This year, drivers have the benefit of cheaper gas prices.”

Eight states have an average price for a gallon or regular below $2.80. Most are near the large refineries southwest of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico:

Alabama ($2.73)
Arkansas ($2.79)
Louisiana ($2.70)
Mississippi ($2.65)
Oklahoma ($2.75)
South Carolina ($2.76)
Tennessee ($2.72)
Texas ($2.79)

Many economists view low gas prices as an advantage for consumers as they free up discretionary income. If so, many Americans will have a very good summer.

These Are the States Where the Most Drivers Are Going Green

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.