Labor Day gas prices across Florida were most expensive since 2012, AAA says
Monday marked the most expensive Labor Day that Florida drivers have seen at the pumps in more than a decade, the American Automobile Association said.
The average gas price in Florida was $3.70, about 20 cents per gallon more than drivers paid a year ago, AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins said. The last time gas prices were that high was in 2012.
At the same time, the $3.70 per gallon was 17 cents less than what Florida drivers were paying on average just two weeks before, Jenkins said.
The state’s highest average price, at $3.85, was in Palm Beach County, which traditionally has the highest gas prices in the state because of a number of reasons.
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The website GasBuddy listed prices at some stations in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Jupiter at above $4, with some reaching as high as $4.10.
Florida’s other high-priced markets were in Naples ($3.80) and Gainesville ($3.79). Prices wre far lower across the Panhandle, with Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach reporting statewide lows of $3.47, AAA said.
The average gas price in the state still was lower than the national average of $3.81, according to AAA.
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The foreseeable future of gas prices is unknown as of right now, Jenkins said, since oil and gasoline prices at the global market are "moving in opposite directions."
He noted that most analysts expect demand for gasoline will drop now that Labor Day has passed. At the same time, the price of crude oil last week jumped to its highest level in 2023, at $85.55 per barrel, or 7% more expensive than the week before.
Why does Palm Beach County have the highest gas prices?
Experts at AAA Auto Club South and Gas Buddy say there are numerous reasons for the dubious distinction.
“The biggest difference-maker in Palm Beach County prices is based on the cost of living and operating a business. If it costs more to keep the lights on, then you are likely to find higher costs for consumers as well,” AAA says.
What other factors are to blame?
Competition, or a lack of competition: Stations near low-price leaders such as Costco and Sam’s Club are likely to offer lower prices, too. Conversely, if there is no large gasoline retailer in an area, prices tend to be higher.
Price zones: A pricing practice known as zoning takes into account the number of competing stations, number of vehicles, average traffic flow, population density, income level and more. Set by the gasoline suppliers, price zones can result in varying prices for the same brand at stations a few miles apart.
Motor fuel tax rates: At 39.4 cents per gallon in state and local taxes, plus 18.4 cents in federal taxes, that brings taxes to 57.7 cents per gallon in Palm Beach County. But 30 other Florida counties have the same gasoline taxes, the highest allowed in Florida.
Distribution cost: These vary depending on how far trucks have to travel from a terminal to gas stations. Palm Beach County has no gasoline terminal. Port Everglades in Broward County is South Florida’s primary storage and distribution center for refined petroleum products, and all of Palm Beach County’s gasoline comes from there.
Property taxes, insurance and leasing costs: These tend to be higher near airports and interstate on- and off-ramps and in higher-income municipalities such as Boca Raton and Jupiter.
The market: Station owners charge what the market will bear. In an affluent county, that ends up with prices being higher. Higher-income communities also tend to have fewer gas stations, resulting in less competition. What does it boil down to? They charge more because they can.
Arianna Otero is a breaking News reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aotero@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ari_v_otero. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: AAA: Labor Day gas prices across Florida were most expensive since 2012
