By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-04 23:46:30 | Updated at 2026-09-05 00:42:09
1 hour ago
If you’re thinking of taking a long road trip for Labor Day weekend, you might want to rethink whether or not it’ll be worth the pain at the pump.
“The national average is $4.14, up 4 cents from last week,” AAA said.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached about $5.81 on Friday. That’s $1.67 per gallon more than the national average.
With crude oil costs continuing to rise, gas prices are on track to reach record highs for the Labor Day holiday, according to AAA.
“Labor Day week travelers are facing the highest gas prices ever for this time of year,” AAA said in a press release on Thursday, Sept. 3. “After a record-setting August, this Labor Day weekend is on track to also set a record at the pump.”
Gas prices have continued to rise throughout the country as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to create uncertainty in the global oil markets.
In a post on X, Governor Gavin Newsom sarcastically blamed President Trump for the higher gas prices, writing “Great work, @realDonaldTrump!” above a post from the news outlet Headquarters that shows Trump’s face, a pump and reads, “The national price of diesel has skyrocketed to $5.82 per gallon. This sets a new record for the most expensive price of all time.”
Meanwhile, users in the comments, blame Newsom for the increase in prices with some making memes showing a pump and Newsom saying “I did that!”
In California, diesel prices also reached a record high of $7.75 per gallon on April 9.
AAA added that lower demand after a busy summer driving season, has not been enough to counteract higher crude oil prices.
The state’s gas prices have climbed about 16 cents per gallon over the past week, according to AAA.
Nationally, the current record for Labor Day is $3.82 per gallon, which was set on Sept. 3, 2012.
As for California, current average prices remain below the state’s all-time high of $6.44 per gallon on average, set in June 2022.
To find the cheapest fuel prices in your area, one option is searching on GasBuddy for the stations with the lowest reported prices.
These were the average per-gallon prices for regular gas at different cities throughout California, as of Friday afternoon, AAA said:
Bakersfield: $5.77 per gallon
Chico-Paradise: $5.58
El Centro: $5.59
Fresno: $5.77
Hanford-Corcoran: $5.72
Los Angeles-Long Beach: $5.86
Madera-Chowchila: $5.79
Merced: $5.70
Modesto: $5.60
Napa: $5.97
Oakland: $5.83
Orange County: $5.84
Redding: $5.60
Riverside: $5.74
Sacramento: $5.73
Salinas: $5.95
San Bernardino: $5.75
San Diego: $5.92
San Francisco: $5.95
San Jose: $5.79
San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles: $6.05
San Rafael: $5.95
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc: $5.80
Santa Cruz-Watsonville: $5.75
Santa Rosa: $6.01
Stockton-Lodi: $5.65
Vallejo-Fairfield: $5.75
Ventura: $5.77
Visalia-Tulare-Porterville: $5.73
Yolo: $5.67
Yuba City: $5.50
