(The Center Square) – Traditional transportation energy prices in North Carolina have dropped to the lowest level since before the COVID-19 era movement restrictions.
The average gallon of unleaded regular from Murphy to Manteo is $2.61, down a nickel from a week earlier and the lowest since state government restrictions led to prices below $2 a gallon in the spring of 2020. North Carolina is 20 cents better than the national average of $2.81, according to AAA.
A month ago in the state, the price was $2.80 a gallon and a year earlier it was $2.85.
Diesel is $3.39 a gallon on average across the state.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, June 1 to Sept. 15 is the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 35.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 38.3 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Twenty-one states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 21 are lower for diesel; and 14 are lower in electric.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in Goldsboro and the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton area at $2.50. The most expensive area is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $2.81.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($3.26) in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton market.
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North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is topped by California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
