The national average price for regular gas on Friday is $3.04 per gallon, a slight decrease from earlier this week. There were no spooky increases at the pumps or frightening fuel costs this Halloween.
Overall, gas prices have remained relatively steady with a downward trend to the $3 per gallon price point, according to AAA. While it has not eclipsed the threshold, at least according to AAA, it seems like a matter of when, not if, that will eventually happen. Gas prices dropped a fair amount in the U.S. in October. On Oct. 2, the national average was $3.16 per gallon; today, fuel costs are almost 4% less expensive.
If this trend continues, the national average price for a gallon of gas will be under $3 at the beginning of November. One gas analyst organization, GasBuddy, already listed the national average for gas under $3. Its figures differ from the data AAA has obtained. Nevertheless, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, touted the decrease in fuel costs, with the national average flirting with the $3-per-gallon price point.
“Gas prices have finally fallen below $3 per gallon nationally — the earliest date we’ve seen a $2.99 national average since 2020, when COVID was the primary driver of low prices,” said De Haan. “Currently, 35 states have average gas prices below $2.99/gal.”
Gas prices have been relatively steady in the fall and late summer, decreasing toward a $3-per-gallon national average after Labor Day and as autumn began. It’s been a welcome delight for the nation’s drivers. Moreover, October’s gas prices are the least expensive since mid-December 2024.
Affordable gas has become a hallmark of the Trump presidency, in terms of rhetoric and reality. Since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, gas prices have remained steady for essentially all of 2025 under the Trump administration, typically falling between $3.12 and $3.21.
Gas price experts suggest $3 per gallon as a price point to reflect the state of affordability of national gas prices in recent years. While the national average is currently $3.04, the number of states with average prices lower than $3 per gallon has steadily increased throughout the year. At the end of September, 24 states had fuel cost averages below $3 per gallon. By Oct. 7, that number had increased to 28 states. Today, on Halloween, the last day of October, 34 states have an average gas price below $3 per gallon, according to AAA.
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California has the most expensive gas prices in the country, with a cost of $4.62 per gallon, a four-cent increase from earlier this week. Next is Hawaii, which has a fuel cost of $4.485 per gallon, followed by the state of Washington at $4.296, with a slight decrease from earlier in the week. Oregon and Alaska are the states with the fourth and fifth-most-expensive average gas prices in the country, at $3.898, a slight drop from Tuesday, and $3.863, a slight increase from Tuesday, respectively.
On the flip side, Texas is now the state with the cheapest gas prices in the country, a change from earlier in the week. The Lone Star State has a statewide average of $2.576 per gallon. Next is Oklahoma, with an average price of $2.593 per gallon. Mississippi is next at $2.603, and then Arkansas at $2.612. Louisiana is now the fifth-least expensive state for gas prices, with an average of $2.625.
