Gas prices in region surpass $3 a gallon

The Mahoning Valley has the cheapest gas in the state.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

There are some stations with gas for less than $3 a gallon — you’ll just have to drive a ways to get there.

Six eastern and southern states have an average gas price of under $3, with New Jersey being the lowest at $2.91.

Don’t want to drive to New Jersey? How about Salem? At $3.02 a gallon, a Dairy Mart on South Lincoln Avenue just may have the cheapest gas in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.

No other area station had prices under $3.06 Thursday, according to MSN Autos, a Web site that publishes gas prices based on credit card transactions. A worker at the Salem Dairy Mart confirmed Thursday afternoon that the store still was charging $3.02.

Most likely, however, you are going to have to pay more to buy gas locally. Most stations listed on the MSN Autos site had prices ranging from $3.09 to $3.11.

The prices were consistent throughout the area, although stations in Garrettsville and Southington were charging $3.19. Prices in the Hermitage-Sharon, Pa., area ranged from $3.09 to $3.18.

The average price of regular gas in Pennsylvania is $3.11, which also is the national average, based on surveys by the AAA. Ohio’s average price is running two cents higher.

The average price in the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan area, however, is the lowest in Ohio, AAA said. The area’s average price for regular gas Thursday was $3.10, which was down three cents from the day before. A year ago, the area’s average price $2.16.

Cleveland had the highest average price in the state Thursday at $3.14.

shilling@vindy.com