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Average gas price in Mass. breaks record set during Great Recession

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas reached $4.16 in Massachusetts on Monday.

Gas prices in Massachusetts are at record highs. David L Ryan/Globe Staff

March 7, 2022

The record for the highest average gas price ever recorded in Massachusetts was broken Monday as the average gas price across the state reached $4.16 per gallon of regular unleaded gas.

The previous record was set July 8, 2008 when the average gas price in the state reached $4.092 per gallon during the Great Recession, according to AAA’s gas price monitoring.

In Massachusetts, prices are still the most expensive on the Islands. Nantucket County’s average gas price was $4.996 per gallon Monday, while Dukes County had an average gas price of $4.778 per gallon.

The lowest gas prices in Massachusetts were in Hampden and Berkshire Counties, at $4.099 and $4.100 per gallon, respectively.

Boston’s average gas price sits at $4.171 per gallon.

Gas prices have skyrocketed the last few weeks and days as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Still, according to The Boston Globe, infrastructure problems caused by the pandemic are the biggest reason for the high gas prices in the U.S. It reported that only 3% of the U.S.’s oil comes from Russia, and there’s no shortage of gas in the country.

The newspaper also reported that bans on Russian oil have already factored into energy traders’ pricing even though President Joe Biden has yet to establish a ban.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey accused gas companies of price gouging on Twitter Monday.

Here's a fact you won't hear on Fox News today. Exxon, Chevron, and Conoco made $46 billion in profit in 2021. Now they're using 40% of those profits for stock buybacks. Big Oil is raking it in, raising prices, and taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to push for more drilling.
— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) March 7, 2022

Massachusetts

While Massachusetts’s gas prices have now risen to their greatest height ever, according to AAA’s gas price monitoring, over a dozen states have higher gas prices.

Massachusetts has the 14th highest gas prices in the nation, behind states like Washington, New York, Illinois, and Alaska.

California has the highest average gas price by far, at $5.343 per gallon. The state with the second-highest average gas price is Hawaii, at $4.699 per gallon.

Still, Massachusetts did have one of the highest jumps in price between Sunday and Monday, with the average price jumping about eight cents in one day.

The states with the lowest gas prices are all within the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. Missouri takes the cake with an average gas price of $3.627 per gallon, but states like Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming have average gas prices that are not too much higher.