Just when it seemed like pain at the pump in Pennsylvania might be subsiding, gas prices are rising again across the commonwealth.
The average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania jumped to $4.22 on Wednesday, according to motor club AAA. That’s up from $3.99 this time last week, and $3.12 when the US began its attacks on Iran Feb. 28, though still well below the $4.69 a gallon Pennsylvanians were paying on May 7.
Pennsylvania’s average gas price also remains higher than the national average, which is currently $4.06.
According to data from the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, the average Pennsylvania household has experienced a $372 spending increase on gas since Feb. 28. Pennsylvanians have seen a collective spending increase of more than $1.7 billion since the start of the war.
At $4.30, Fayette County currently has the highest average price for a gallon of gas in the commonwealth.
Union County has the lowest average cost, at $3.97 a gallon. It’s the only county in the state where the average gas price is under $4.
Here’s a breakdown of the current average gas cost per gallon in Pennsylvania’s top 10 metro areas, with last week’s prices in parentheses:
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton: $4.18 ($3.95)
- East Stroudsburg: $4.20 ($3.98)
- Erie: $4.24 ($3.75)
- Harrisburg-Carlisle: $4.20 ($3.88)
- Lancaster: $4.25 ($3.93)
- Philadelphia: $4.23 ($4.02)
- Pittsburgh: $4.27 ($4.16)
- Reading: $4.28 ($4.00)
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre: $4.17 ($3.94)
- York-Hanover: $4.24 ($3.92)
How is the war impacting gas prices?
Simply put, gas prices are rising again because the US started fighting with Iran again. An interim deal to end the fighting collapsed less than a month after it was signed.
The US launched an 11th night of airstrikes overnight into Wednesday, hitting targets across Iran and raising doubts about a diplomatic solution to end the conflict as it threatens to again spin out of control.
The escalation has pushed energy prices higher. The international benchmark for crude oil traded Tuesday above $91 a barrel.
Shipping remains largely stalled through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passed in peacetime. Iran’s attacks on shipping in that waterway sparked the recent series of US responses.
Gas prices will likely get worse as the strikes continue and further damage is done to the oil supply and infrastructure.
Speaking from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had “no interest in meeting.” He signaled that US forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.
What about the Trump-hyped Freedom Fuel gas stations?
It appears that not even Freedom Fuel, the gas station chain that recently opened dozens of locations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey in support of President Trump, is immune to the effects of the war in Iran.
Freedom Fuel gas stations began springing up across the Philadelphia region, along with a location in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, earlier this month, with gas prices set at $3.47 per gallon in support of the 47th president.
Now Freedom Fuel prices are quickly approaching $4 per gallon, and customers are taking notice.
Margaret Hope, who lives in York County, said she drove to the Camp Hill station because she heard gas was cheaper there.
It wasn’t. And she wasn’t happy about it.
“Sunoco is cheaper than this,” she said as she filled the tank of her Ford Fiesta. “It was cheaper when it came in, but now it’s not.”
To her, it reflects the state of the nation.
“I’ve had it with this country,” she said. “It seems like everything in this country is disjointed. I’m very angry. I’m 74 years old and watching our country implode is a sad state of affairs.”
How Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to ease pain at the pump
Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest gasoline tax in the nation, at 57.6 cents per gallon, and the highest diesel fuel tax at 74.1 cents a gallon. The national average gas tax is 33 cents a gallon.
State and federal gas taxes provide more than 70% of the state’s highway and bridge funding. Some of that money goes to municipalities to support locally owned roads, as well as the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Since the start of the Iran war, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed legislation that would lower or pause Pennsylvania’s gas tax. The latest such effort comes from Republican state Rep. Rayn Warner (Fayette).
Why is Pennsylvania’s gas tax rate so high?
Pennsylvania’s high gas tax rate goes back to 2013, when the Republican-controlled legislature passed H.B. 1060 with bipartisan support. Then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, signed the bill into law as Act 89 of 2013.
Lawmakers at the time estimated that the bill would generate an additional $2.4 billion annually within five years for transportation infrastructure projects at the state and local level. Today, PennDOT estimates it generates $3.5 billion.
Act 89 of 2013 eliminated the 12-cent flat tax on a gallon of gasoline and the cap on the Oil Company Franchise Tax.
The gas tax rate increased by about 10% annually between 2014 and 2016. In 2017, the law mandated that PennDOT set the tax rate based on the annual wholesale price (AWP) of gasoline. If the AWP exceeded $2.99 a gallon, the price would go up, as it did for the first time in 2023, when the rate jumped from about 57.6 cents to 61.1 cents. If it fell below that mark, as it did in 2024 (and where it has stayed), the gas tax would go down.
In 2022, Republican Sen. Wayne Langerholc proposed legislation to stop any further increases in the gas tax. His bill passed the Senate 29-19, with 27 Republicans and two Democrats backing the bill and 19 Democrats opposing it. The bill was then referred to the House Finance Committee, where it died.
How to find the cheapest gas prices
Whether you’re traveling or at home, the website GasBuddy offers information to find the cheapest prices for gasoline.
Enter your state, city, or ZIP code to find the cheapest fuel prices in the area.
Information from the Associated Press and USA Today via Reuters Connect was used in this report.
