Gas prices in the United States have significantly increased recently, with places such as California and Illinois experiencing some of the highest prices of $5 per gallon and upward, according to the American Automobile Association.

CBS reported on a combination of factors that have led to this situation:

• Over two years into the pandemic, economic recovery and increased vaccination rates mean a post-pandemic demand for gas as people are driving more for work, trips, etc.

• In the early days of the pandemic, oil production was cut due to low demand, and now production as a whole has been slow to catch up.

• The United States does not import much gas from Russia — less than 10%. But, U.S. sanctions do add to the issues with the overall global market.

Mississippi ranks lower with an average price of $4 per gallon. However, lower prices can still be financially impactful given states' varying economies.

As CNN puts it, Mississippians need to work two hours and 34 minutes to fill up a 15-gallon tank at an average price of $4.01, but Californians only have to work two hours and 18 minutes with a significantly higher average price per gallon of $5.72.

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Data Dive: Gas prices in Mississippi

by Nigel Dent, Mississippi Today
March 12, 2022

<h1>Data Dive: Gas prices in Mississippi</h1> <p class="byline">by Nigel Dent, Mississippi Today <br />March 12, 2022</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/data-dive-FINAL-logo-04-1-1200x302.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1025359" /></figure> <p>Gas prices in the United States have significantly increased recently, with places such as California and Illinois experiencing some of the highest prices of $5 per gallon and upward, according to the <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/">American Automobile Association</a>. </p> <p>!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r&lt;t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[&quot;datawrapper-height&quot;][a]+&quot;px&quot;}}}))}();</p> <p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gas-prices-high-expensive-come-down-cbs-news-explains/">CBS reported on a combination of factors</a> that have led to this situation:</p> <p>• Over two years into the pandemic, economic recovery and increased vaccination rates mean a <strong>post-pandemic demand</strong> for gas as people are driving more for work, trips, etc.</p> <p>• In the early days of the pandemic, <strong>oil production was cut</strong> due to low demand, and now production as a whole has been slow to catch up.</p> <p>• The United States does not import much gas from Russia — less than 10%. But, <strong>U.S. sanctions</strong> do add to the issues with the overall global market.</p> <p>Mississippi ranks lower with an average price of $4 per gallon. However, lower prices can still be financially impactful given states' varying economies. </p> <hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" /> <div class="wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background"> <h3 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-quick-math-gas-price-wage-comparison"><mark class="has-inline-color has-secondary-color">Quick math: Gas price/wage comparison</mark></h3> <div class="wp-block-columns is-style-borders"> <div class="wp-block-column"> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-mississippi"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-variation-color">Mississippi</mark></h2> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-average-gas-price">Average gas price</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-4-01-gallon"><mark style="color:#89dc65" class="has-inline-color">$4.01/gallon</mark></h2> <hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" /> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-average-hourly-wage">Average hourly wage</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-23-51"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">$23.51</mark></h2> <hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" /> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-work-hours-needed-to-fill-a-15-gallon-tank">Work hours needed to fill a 15-gallon tank</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-2-hrs-34-mins"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">2 hrs 34 mins</mark></h2> </p></div> <div class="wp-block-column"> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-california"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-variation-color">California</mark></h2> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-average-gas-price-1">Average gas price</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-5-72-gallon"><mark style="color:#b92454" class="has-inline-color">$5.72/gallon</mark></h2> <hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" /> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-average-hourly-wage-1">Average hourly wage</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-37-18"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">$37.18</mark></h2> <hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" /> <h4 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-work-hours-needed-to-fill-a-15-gallon-tank-1">Work hours needed to fill a 15-gallon tank</h4> <h2 class="has-text-align-center" id="h-2-hrs-18-mins"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">2 hrs 18 mins</mark></h2> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/energy/us-gas-prices-hours-work/index.html">As CNN puts it</a>, Mississippians need to work two hours and 34 minutes to fill up a 15-gallon tank at an average price of $4.01, but Californians only have to work two hours and 18 minutes with a significantly higher average price per gallon of $5.72.</p> <p>!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r&lt;t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[&quot;datawrapper-height&quot;][a]+&quot;px&quot;}}}))}();</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2022/03/12/gas-prices-mississippi/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1025358&ga=UA-75003810-1" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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