U.S. Gas Price Heat Map - January 18, 2010
Some photographers do a lot of traveling, and finding the best gas prices is important.
Driving across the country, I have learned which states have better gas prices. If I am headed east on I-70 in eastern Missouri, I always buy gas before I cross the Mississippi River into Illinois where the prices are much higher. I don’t by gas again until I get to Indiana.
If I am in western Nebraska on I-76 and headed for Colorado, I try not to buy gas until I get across the Colorado state line. If I am in Pennsylvania on I-84 and headed for New York, I always fill up before crossing the New York state line.
The Gas Price Heat Map above illustrates all of this and more. As you already know, gas prices can vary a lot within a state, or a county, or in your own neighborhood.
If you want to search for the best prices in your home town, or wherever you are at, check out the Gas Prices web sites which are available on a state by state basis. In Colorado, go to www.ColoradoGasPrices.com to find the best prices. In Michigan, go to www.MichiganGasPrices.com. If you live in California, sell your car and get a bicycle. (Just kidding!)
You can find a quick link to your state at GasBuddy.com.
Sometime you can save a little or a lot by driving a few blocks (or a few miles) from where you usually buy gas. When prices are fluctuating a lot, you can save a lot of money. I found two stations just 4 miles apart with a $0.37 per gallon difference in gas prices. I would drive four miles out of my way to save $5.55 on fifteen gallons of gas. And if you will drive by both stations anyway, it is a no brainer.
On my way across town today, I will pass two station with an $0.11 per gallon difference in price. Not a lot, but I will pass both stations anyway and buy at the station with the better price.
All of these sites get their information by consumers who log on and post prices they have found. The more people in an area who do this, the more often the prices are updated and the longer the list of stations. In some rural areas, you may be out of luck. I could not find any prices along I-80 in a rural area of Pennsylvania.
You can search by city, state, or zip code. Here is the top of the list (arranged by price) when I searched for prices for area code 80236 in the Denver area.
Gas Price Search, Denver Colorado, Based on Zip Code 80236 - January 18, 2010
If you are traveling with a laptop, you can look for prices at a wifi hotspot. If you have an iPhone, get the free app, Cheap Gas!, by David J. Hinson.
Happy Travels!