Business & Tech

Gas Prices Here are the Highest in Nation

Experts expect it to soar even higher, as prices typically don't peak until sometime between Memorial Day and July 4.

Record heat isn’t the only record Chicagoland is breaking these days. The city and suburbs are on the verge of also breaking records for the highest gas prices, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report and online gas price tracking website GasBuddy.com.

The city of Chicago is seeing prices as high as $4.87 per gallon for regular, more than $1 higher than areas downstate, like Springfield's at $3.79, according to GasBuddy.com.

In the suburbs, drivers can find gas for the relatively low price of $4.33 per gallon for regular at Costco in Oak Brook, or as high as $4.75 per gallon in Arlington Heights. Elmhurst gas prices have been between $4.34 per gallon and $4.59 per gallon.

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For gas prices in Elmhurst, click here.

Illinois ranks fourth highest average gas prices according to  AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.  That's because in downstate Illinois, prices still are under the $4 mark.

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Nationwide, the lowest gas prices are in the western states, with Wyoming’s average for regular at $3.47 per gallon. Hawaii has the highest average price at $4.51.

GasBuddy’s Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan told The Expired Meter, that he expects gas prices to remain well over $4 a gallon all summer, and they may even reach $5 per gallon. The price soared 80 cents a gallon just in the past month, a rate of increase never before seen.

According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report oil prices are driven by global issues, however, recent price rises are associated with the weakness of the American dollar.

Illinois has the seventh highest gasoline tax rate in the country, according to the Tax Foundation. 


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