RALEIGH, N.C. — There’s some good news for people planning on traveling for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday — gas prices are expected to be the lowest for the holiday weekend in more than a decade.
Americans should set a record for travel over the holiday weekend with 44.2 million people expected to travel 50 miles or more away from their homes using all forms of transportation, according to AAA.Of those 44.2 million, 37.5 million are expected to drive. The organization says that 1.25 million more travelers will be traveling this year compared to last.
Those 37.5 million people will be paying less for their gas than Americans have since 2005, GasBuddy says.
The national average price for gasoline is close to an all-time low for the year at $2.26/gallon, according to AAA. Drivers can find gas for $2.24/gallon or less at 60 percent of gas stations in the U.S.
According to GasBuddy, the average price of gas in Raleigh is $2.09/gallon and $2.08 overall across the state. South Carolina has the lowest average price at $1.88/gallon and Hawaii the most expensive at $3.00/gallon.
The travel period for the Fourth of July weekend is defined as June 30 to July 4.
AAA’s Fourth of July travel forecast by the numbers:
• Overall, 44.2 million travelers are expected to travel this Independence Day, a 2.9 percent increase over 2016.
• 37.5 million Americans will drive to their destinations, an increase of 2.9 percent over last year.
• 3.44 million people are taking to the skies this Independence Day, increasing air travel by 4.6 percent over last year.
• 3.27 million travelers, an increase of 1.4 percent from 2016, will look to other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses.
An increase is drivers on the road could potentially push the price of gas up slightly, according to AAA.
