(The Center Square) – Arrival of Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, comes with North Carolinians paying $4.17 for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline and $5.39 for a gallon of diesel.
Even at 36 cents better than the national average for traditional transportation energy, it’s an expensive proposition for travel. AAA forecasts travel of at least 50 miles by 45 million Americans nationwide on the holiday weekend honoring military personnel who died in the line of duty.
The pain at the pump is directly tied to Operation Epic Fury in Iran, the joint military strikes launched by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28. Declared a conflict won by the United States within hours of its start by second-term Republican President Donald Trump, Tuesday represented 81 days since it began – a nearly three-month journey with hints of stoppage, even ceasefire announcements, and a wedge further driven between political opponents both nationally and internationally.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the operation over on May 5. Trump on Monday night at the White House – two weeks later – said he stopped Tuesday’s “very major attack,” putting it off “for a little while.”
A day before it started, the statewide norm for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was about $2.75 – up modestly from a low on Jan. 5 of $2.61. The price is up 59.8% since the first of the year, 3 cents from a week ago, and $1.32 from a year ago. North Carolina’s record is $4.67 on June 13, 2022, the month former President Joe Biden’s administration was trying to explain 9.1% inflation.
Trump’s administration is explaining going from 2.4% inflation in February to 3.8% in April. It was 3% for January 2025 when he retook the White House.
The national average for unleaded gas is $4.53, same as the day after Rubio’s declaration.
North Carolina’s $5.39 average for diesel is down 4 cents from a week ago and down 25 cents from a month ago. On April 7, the $5.81 average set a record.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, June 1 to Sept. 15 is the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 40.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 41.7 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Twelve states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 18 are lower for diesel; and 18 plus the District of Columbia are lower in electric. No state is lower than $5 per gallon for diesel, and only Texas by a penny is below $4 for unleaded regular gasoline.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in the Fayetteville market at $4.02. The most expensive is the Asheville metro area at $4.27.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($5.25) in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton market.
North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is only less than California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.