In the past week, the average price of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts hit $4 for the first time since 2022. But within state borders, there’s a wide range of gas prices depending on where you’re filling up.
As of April 30, the cost of a gallon of gas in the three counties south of Boston (Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable) ranged between $4.07 and $4.11. Bristol County, which stretches from Easton to the southeastern border, has the lowest average of all, with a countywide average of $4.07.
“Towns along the borders tend to have cheaper gas prices, so that’s part of the reason why Bristol County is a little bit lower, it borders Rhode Island,” said Mark Schieldrop, a spokesperson for AAA Northeast. “So they’re highly competitive areas.”
On the North Shore (Middlesex and Essex counties), prices start at $4.17 per gallon.
In Boston (Suffolk County) are the highest prices, at nearly $4.30 a gallon, according to AAA data.
Oil prices are continuing to rise as progress towards a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran remain stalled and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain restricted.
Schieldrop said the cost of transporting fuel to gas stations plays a large role in varying costs across the state.
“The further out you go from where the big terminals are that those tractor trailers fill up to go deliver gas, the higher it’s going to cost, because those trucks have to drive longer distances,” he said.
Schieldrop adds that gas prices in areas with fewer gas stations typically remain higher for longer periods of time, since there’s less competition.
“For those fuel retailers, it takes longer for them to sell through their inventory and then replenish,” he said. “When prices get lower, it takes a long time for them to start having that cheaper gasoline in storage that then they can start selling at a lower price.”
Elie Raad, the owner of Somerset Gas and Auto Repair, said that despite being in Bristol County, he’s charging $4.29 per gallon. Since it’s a full-service gas station, he said customers are ultimately paying for the convenience of not getting out of their car.
“There’s a reason for them wanting to pay that extra 10 cents or 20 cents on the gallon,” he said. “It’s not a massive difference, but some people don’t want to pay that extra money because if you fill up four times a month, once a week, that’s $16, which in their head is on the high side.”
Raad said the higher gas prices have affected his business.
“You see a lot less people filling up,” he said “We obviously were more busy because it used to be $20 for someone to fill up their car, and now that same person is filling up their car for $40 or $50.”
Schieldrop doesn’t expect gas prices to start decreasing until there’s some progress toward a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. But even then, he said it will be a long time before prices return to pre-war levels.
“As long as oil prices are above $100 a barrel, that doesn’t bode well for gas prices and they could continue to climb for the time being if the current dynamics continue,” he said.
