# Variation in gas prices



## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I often wonder why the variation in gas prices as you travel. I don't get away much last Saturday my wife and I decided to take a drive down through the Delmarva along the shore. When we drove through the little college town we live at in Lebanon County Pennsylvania the gas price was anywhere from $2.83 to $2.89. Three and a half hours south the gas price was $2.22 . It was interesting from the time we started out as at home and headed south the price just kept on dropping a little and dropping a little and the farther south we went the farther the price dropped. We only went to Lewes Delaware my wife said she wondered if we had driven further maybe the price would have dropped more. So my question to those who know why the variation in gas prices


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

State taxes vary.
Closer to interstate exits it always seems higher.
I think someplaces they all talk and keep their prices the same in a area or town a little higher.Price Fixing!

Traveled west many times and make sure I fill in WY .20-.30 cheaper then SD or MT and the gas station is across the road from the refinery in MT.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

PA gas tax one of the highest in the country. DE is super cheap.
I live on PA/DE border.
Diesel fuel is 60-70 cents/gallon cheaper! 
2.84/g for diesel yesterday in DE
3 miles up the road in PA it's 3.55/g

Another nice thing about living on DE border is there's no sales tax. Head into Wilmington to buy merchandise all the time.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

You would think that having a refinery the gas would be cheaper local. I can get on the interstate and buy it cheaper in Erie, 45 min. west.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

I live about 20 miles from Myrtle Beach SC. Our gas is normally say 20 cents less than Charleston SC is, no idea why. But what gets me is normally my side of town the gas is lower than the beach side is. Has been that way for years but since Hurricane Florence the beach and the beach side of our town is lower by about 15 cents per gallon. Only thing can say is effort to keep tourist happy.

State tax is also big issue in price difference, use to visit family in Ohio at least once a year and both moved. Knew to fill up in SC, skip NC, fill in Tenn and skip Kentucky and Ohio was good pricing. Did that many a time. No idea if that is still holds for all those states or not but still run to Tenn and I still skip NC.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Property values also play a role in prices. If a store is paying higher property taxes with in a city limit then the price has to reflect that. Rent is also an issue if the person is renting the Realestate.

We had a local renting gas station property for $3500 per month. His business boomed because he was competitive and we like trading local. The property owner saw his business and doubled the rent to $7000 per month. He left and now foreigners are running it. They get a tax exemption for 9 years.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

As others have noted, state gas taxes are a big part of the variance from state to state. For me, if i'm in Alabama, I always fill up before returning to GA. It's a difference of 15-20 cents per gallon.

Usually, if you are in an area where there are multiple big chain stores, the price tends to be a bit lower as they compete on volume. Mom & Pop stores (what few are left) are at the mercy of their distributers.

One thing that hurts my hometown is the EPA emission rules that mandate a "summer blend" for metro Atlanta, which now extends to a thirteen county donut around the city. Even though I'm 50 miles from Atlanta, I get the joy of paying extra for this fiasco.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

RockmartGA said:


> Mom & Pop stores (what few are left) are at the mercy of their distributers.


Had a friend with a party store / gas station, the store was in one distributors area, he lived 10 miles away in another distributor's area (same nation brand named gas). He could buy gas for his vehicles across the street from his house always from a few cents to 15 cents a gallon cheaper, than he could in bulk at his store. Was a constant bur under his saddle. He even threaten to siphon from his truck in the store's tank. Finally, just told them to stop delivering the over priced stuff he couldn't afford to have in inventory.

Larry

BTW gas is $2.41 a gallon today.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I just purchased yesterday 87 supposedly octane,10% ethanol for $2.19 per gallon


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

2.19 here today for 87 w/10%

Diesel however is still 2.80 ....


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

2.64 for on-road diesel today! 

.25/G cheaper than off-road fuel delivered to my shop!


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