WASHINGTON — It's no secret that gas prices are going up across the U.S.
The surge in price is being spurred on partially by high demand as the country begins to return to normal after the omicron surge of COVID-19, global oil instability thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and renewed worries about domestic production after President Joe Biden announced a total ban on Russian energy imports as punishment for the invasion.
Nationally, a gallon of gas costs about $4.25 Wednesday according to data from AAA, the highest it's been since 2014, as the country was pulling out of the 2008 recession. That's an 8 cent jump from the record high hit by the U.S. just a day before. But because that's just the average, there are plenty of states where filling up the tank can be even more expensive.
Topping that list, and no surprise to anybody who has ever lived there, is California. According to AAA, the Golden State has an average cost of $5.57 per gallon, driven higher by additional state taxes on gasoline.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are Kansas and Oklahoma, both of which have a gallon of gas, on average, costing $3.79.
Inflation could lead to even higher prices, as the $4.25 price tag for a gallon of gas doesn't account for inflation. Essentially, the last time gas was this expensive, inflation was lower, meaning the relative price of gas was higher (in the same way a 25 cent candy bar in 1980 now costs more than a dollar).
In today's terms, the record price would be equal to about $5.24 after accounting for inflation.
“Forget the $4 per gallon mark, the nation will soon set new all-time record highs and we could push closer to a national average of $4.50," said GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan. “We’ve never been in this situation before, with this level of uncertainty. ... Americans will be feeling the pain of the rise in prices for quite some time."
Here is the average gas price in every state (plus Washington D.C.)
Alaska - $4.58
Alabama - $4.04
Arkansas - $3.84
Arizona - $4.39
California - $5.57
Colorado - $3.91
Connecticut - $4.42
D.C. - $4.42
Delaware - $4.25
Florida - $4.21
Georgia - $4.17
Hawaii - $4.77
Iowa - $3.89
Idaho - $4.17
Illinois - $4.53
Indiana - $4.24
Kansas - $3.79
Kentucky - $4.01
Louisiana - $4.04
Massachusetts - $4.31
Maryland - $4.23
Maine - $4.26
Michigan - $4.25
Minnesota - $3.93
Missouri - $3.80
Mississippi - $3.92
Montana - $3.95
North Carolina - $4.13
North Dakota - $3.87
Nebraska - $3.88
New Hampshire - $4.23
New Jersey - $4.33
New Mexico - $4.12
Nevada - $4.77
New York - $4.43
Ohio - $4.08
Oklahoma - $3.79
Oregon - $4.66
Pennsylvania - $4.39
Rhode Island - $4.29
South Carolina - $4.03
South Dakota - $3.88
Tennessee - $4.05
Texas - $3.93
Utah - $4.20
Virginia - $4.18
Vermont - $4.26
Washington - $4.63
Wisconsin - $3.99
West Virginia - $4.07
Wyoming - $3.92
The Associated Press contributed to this report.