Gas Prices Now Below $3 a Gallon in Minnesota

It hasn't happened in nearly two years, but gasoline prices across much of Minnesota have now fallen below $3 a gallon.

Unless you've made the switch and are driving an electrical vehicle (EV), you're probably still used to regularly stopping by your local gas station or convenience store to fill up the 'ol gas tank. And now, we've reached a milestone here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes-- and in a good way.

One not-so-horrible thing about the pandemic back in 2020 was that when everything shut down-- both here in Minnesota and across the globe-- demand for crude oil fell. And so did gas prices here in the Bold North, which hit a low for that year in mid-April 2020 of around $1.65 a gallon.

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Then, on the other end of the spectrum, fueled by Russia's war with Ukraine, inflation, and other factors, gas prices skyrocketed just a few years later, hitting a record high of $4.75 a gallon in the North State State on June 15th, 2022. Ouch.

And while prices haven't remained *that* high, thankfully, they have been settling in right around that $3 a gallon mark across the state. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA), prices even dipped below that magical $3 a gallon mark in much of the state earlier this year. But not everywhere.

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In fact, while other parts of the Gopher State have experienced much lower prices, gas prices remained stubbornly high in Rochester, Minnesota's third-largest city. In fact, acccording to AAA Minnesota, while the average gas price statewide in Minnesota last week was $2.97 a gallon, Rochester's average price was still at $3.05 a gallon.

But not this week. As of Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Gas Buddy reports that many stations in Minnesota's Med City are now selling regular unleaded for $2.99 a gallon or lower. That's down six cents from a week ago and down 20 cents from mid-October. The last time that happened was nearly two years ago, in early December of 2022.

A Sinclair station in Rochester, Minnesota on 11/13/24. (CSJ/TSM-Rochester)

And, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance, gas prices are expected to continue to decline, and we could see the national average (which AAA Minnesota says is currently at $3.07 a gallon) drop below that magical $3 a gallon mark as well. If it does drop that low, it will be the first time below the $3 a gallon mark since May 2021.

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Speaking of gas prices, do you remember how cheap they were when you first started driving? (What did we do with all that extra money back then?!?) Keep scrolling to take a walk down memory lane and check out the price we paid when you first got your driver's license!