SIOUX CITY, IA -
It's not necessarily something you like to do, but when filling up your tank, wouldn't you want to get the best deal? Well, Iowa has some of the lowest gas prices around. The price for gas hasn't been exactly kind over the last few years. But according to the latest Triple A averages, Iowa's gas prices aren't as hard on your wallet compared to surrounding states like Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.
Traveler Ashley Schlinke, on a road trip with her family from Texas agrees.
"It started escalating right around Oklahoma, and as we crossed the line, it started to get cheaper as we went farther North," she said.
According to the Triple A numbers, gas is averaging $3.50 in Texas, $3.40 in Oklahoma, $3.45 in Nebraska, and $3.39 in Iowa. Plan to pay more if you're driving to places like Illinois this weekend, gas there averages $3.89 a gallon. And if that's not high enough, check out the West Coast – gas is above $4.20 a gallon in California, Washington and Oregon! Ashley and her husband have been strategically planning where they get their gas.
"As the gas tank would get lower and lower, we'd look at truck stops, and this was a good 10 cents cheaper than just closer to Sioux City," she said.
They stopped at the Dunes General Store in Dakota Dunes, where gas was $3.27 a gallon. Stations all around Sioux City are cheaper than the state average. And although $3.25 a gallon a few years ago would have been considered VERY high for gas, Schlinke says right now, it's lower than what she's used to back in Texas.
"No, it's not that low, but 10 to 15 cents as a percentage does add up, so we try to be as frugal as we can and watch it, and definitely buy it when it's the cheapest," she said.
There are several stations in the area where you can fill your tank up for just under $3.30, just a few suggestions before you head out on the road this memorial day weekend.
If you're one of those 35 million Americans planning on traveling this weekend, you can check out gas prices across the country online at : http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/
