Gas prices are creeping upward in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to data from price tracking company GasBuddy. At the start of the summer, San Francisco gas prices hovered around $4.80. By mid-September, average prices shot up to $5.50—a 15% increase over three months.
In San Francisco, there isn’t a single gas station within city limits that will sell you gas for under $5 per gallon. Even the famed Arco station on Mission Street—known for its ridiculously low gas prices—is selling gas for roughly $5.30 per gallon as of Wednesday afternoon.
Across the Bay Area, the cheapest pump-up stations appear to be in ritzy Mountain View: Costco and Diamond Gas & Mart are two of the five gas stations in the Bay Area that sell the juice for less than $5, according to GasBuddy estimates. In San Francisco, stations along 19th Avenue in the Sunset appear to have slightly cheaper gas, hovering around $5.35, per Google Maps figures.
Skyrocketing gas prices are an issue that’s not only affecting the Bay Area; average gas prices across California are edging closer to $6, with Los Angeles reporting some of the highest prices in the state. Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of gas has remained below $4 since July last year, according to GasBuddy figures.
The state’s average gas price is currently nearing its record: California’s highest average price was $6.44 in June last year, according to AAA. Today, AAA estimates the state’s average price is $5.79 per gallon.
The cause may be increasing U.S. oil prices, which surged past $90 a barrel at the start of September. Oil prices largely determine the costs of the gas you pump at a station, and CNN reports Saudia Arabia and Russia’s “aggressive supply cuts” may be behind the jump in prices.
And even though summer is winding down—usually a period when demand for gas wanes—prices are still surging.
GasBuddy’s Cheapest Gas Stations in the Bay Area
All prices are as of Wednesday afternoon and posted by users on GasBuddy’s website. Prices may differ after publication time.
Mountain View
$4.87 — Costco, 150 Lawrence Station Road
$4.87 — Diamond Gas & Mart, 789 E. Evelyn Ave.
$4.89 — Great Gas, 1220 Grant Road
San Francisco
$5.09 — Best Gasoline Mini-Mart, 2099 San Jose Ave.
$5.30 — Speedway Express, 2000 & 2301 19th Ave.
$5.30 — Valero, 1400 19th Ave.
Berkeley
$5.30 — Berkeley Smog & Gas, 3000 Shattuck Ave.
$5.32 — 76, 1830 Solano Ave.
Oakland
$5.35 — Arco, 3310 Park Blvd.
$5.19-$5.40 — Valero, 4251 International Blvd.
Daly City/South San Francisco
$5.19 — Costco, 451 S. Airport Blvd. & 1600 El Camino Real
$5.17-$5.38 — Valero, 6989 Mission St.