(NewsNation) — There’s good news for millions of Americans hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend: Lower gas prices.
The national average price of gas is expected to be $3.08 per gallon on Memorial Day, the lowest for the holiday since 2021, according to GasBuddy, which tracks fuel costs nationwide.
The latest forecast is 50 cents per gallon lower than last Memorial Day’s average and well below the $4.60 seen in 2022.
If GasBuddy’s projection holds, this will be the cheapest Memorial Day at the pump — adjusted for inflation — since 2003, excluding the pandemic-disrupted year of 2020.
The company attributed this year’s drop in prices to “lower crude oil costs amid an increase in oil production from OPEC+, the potential for a nuclear deal with Iran, and some economic uncertainty.”
Going forward, the national average could fall below $3 per gallon “at times” this summer, GasBuddy noted in its report.
“While we’re forecasting the lowest summer gas prices in years, economic jitters are slightly dampening optimism — but we still expect a robust travel season, with millions of Americans hitting the road, many for extended trips,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a statement.
Road trips are expected to hit a record this Memorial Day weekend, with some 39.4 million people traveling by car, according to AAA.
The unofficial start to summer comes amid declining consumer sentiment, driven by concerns that President Trump’s trade war will worsen inflation. Still, many Americans seem comfortable traveling, especially for nearby getaways.
Roughly 69% of Americans plan to take a road trip this summer, slightly lower than the 76% of respondents who planned to travel last summer, according to GasBuddy’s 2025 Summer Travel Survey.
Keep in mind, gas prices vary widely depending on where you are, even within the same state.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the national average for a gallon of regular gas was $3.16, per GasBuddy. In California, it was significantly higher at $4.86, while in Mississippi it was just $2.65.
The priciest Memorial Day at the pump was in 2008, according to De Haan. Back then, the national average hit $3.92 a gallon, about $5.80 today adjusted for inflation.
