North Carolina 12th state to get under $3 gas

(The Center Square) – Average gas prices on Wednesday dropped below $3 a gallon for North Carolinians, the 12th state to do so, according to the American Automobile Association.

A gallon of unleaded had remained above the mark since early February. The national average is $3.25. North Carolina’s other averages are $3.43 for mid-grade, $3.81 for premium and $3.56 for diesel.

Unleaded was a tick above $3 on Tuesday.

All are down significantly from a year ago at the same time – unleaded by 49 cents, mid-grade 42 cents, premium 41 cents and diesel 63 cents. A month ago, unleaded was 25 cents higher, mid-grade 13 cents, premium 22 cents and diesel 15 cents.

Only Florida ($3.18), West Virginia ($3.14), Virginia ($3.10) and Georgia ($3.03) are higher below the Mason-Dixon Line. Mississippi ($2.76) leads the best averages followed by Tennessee ($2.80), Texas ($2.81), South Carolina ($2.82), Oklahoma ($2.82), Alabama ($2.83), Louisiana ($2.86), Arkansas ($2.89), Kentucky ($2.89), Missouri ($2.93) and Kansas ($2.96).

Despite the overall low average, North Carolina does have one metro area – Durham-Chapel Hill – where average prices for unleaded are $3.20.

The lowest metros are New Bern ($2.79) and Goldsboro ($2.82).

The most economical metro for diesel is $3.48 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton.

North Carolina this year taxes gasoline at 40.4 cents per gallon, up 2 cents from last year and the fifth-highest in the country. States higher are California (57.9); Pennsylvania (57.6); Washington (49.4); and Illinois (45.4).

In a state with the ninth-largest population of 10.8 million, roughly 8 million vehicle registrations are combustion engines, either gas or diesel. Total zero-emission vehicles registered is about 100,000, or 1 in 80 on the highways.