Are We Really Paying the Highest Gas Prices Ever in MN Right Now?

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There's no doubt that gas prices are insanely high right now. But are they the highest ever here in Minnesota?

We've all been watching helplessly as gas prices continue to go up...and up... and up here in Minnesota this spring. And while prices for gasoline usually do increase leading up to Memorial Day, this year they seem to be way off the charts.

These high prices ARE setting some new records. For instance, back in March, prices broke a 14-year record when the national average went higher than $4.14. Right now (as of May 18th), the American Automobile Association (AAA) says the national average is at a whopping $4.56 a gallon, and for the first time ever, has surpassed an average of $4 a gallon in all 50 states.

Here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, AAA says we're currently (as of May 18th) paying $4.12 on average across Minnesota. Here in Rochester, it's closer to $4.24 a gallon. So, yeah, prices ARE high. But are they the highest in Minnesota history?

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Well, yes... and no. Yes, when you check the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) online record history. Their online records database dates back 22 years, and there doesn't appear to be a higher per-gallon price than our current statewide average of $4.12 a gallon.

But when you account for inflation, it's a different story. According to the EIA, Minnesota's previous high was set back on July 14, 2008, when gas prices hit $3.95 a gallon. However, when you adjust those figures for inflation (which is also much higher today), that price today would be a staggering $5.30 a gallon! Yikes.

Either way, it's a LOT of money we're all paying to fill up these days-- and it's a far cry from the price we paid just last year when AAA said Minnesota's average was $2.83 a gallon. And, we're WAAY over what we were paying a little over two years ago, right after the pandemic hit. The EIA notes that on May 18, 2020, a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Minnesota was selling for just $1.71 a gallon!

Gas prices have risen and fallen over the years, of course. Here's hoping they start to come down soon. And keep scrolling to see how much (or little) we were paying for gas the year you first got behind the wheel!

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LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.