RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. - If you filled up in Murfreesboro, Smyrna, or LaVergne and felt personally attacked by the gas pump, take comfort in knowing it could be worse. Not good, just worse. The average price for regular unleaded across Rutherford County is sitting at $3.67 per gallon, which in today’s economy apparently qualifies as “not the worst news of the day.”

While local drivers debate whether to combine errands or simply stay home forever, the real crown for eye-watering fuel costs belongs to Pickett County, tucked along the Kentucky border. There, regular unleaded is averaging $4.066 per gallon. Yes, a county with fewer people somehow has more expensive gas—because of course it does.

Directly to the west, Williamson County is doing its best impression of “almost the highest,” with prices hovering around $4.060 per gallon in areas like Brentwood and Franklin. For those keeping score, that’s only a fraction below Pickett County, proving that proximity to wealth does not, in fact, guarantee cheaper fuel.

Back in Rutherford County, the $3.67 average for 87-octane might not inspire celebration, especially for commuters who measure their lives in miles and red lights. Still, it beats paying over four dollars just to sit in traffic somewhere else.

Nearby communities offer their own versions of “close enough to painful.” South in Shelbyville, drivers are paying about $3.68 per gallon. Over in Woodbury, prices are flirting with the $4 mark at $3.96. Meanwhile, Coffee County residents are seeing a slightly lighter hit at $3.61 per gallon—because every nickel matters when you’re watching the total climb like a countdown in reverse.

Statewide, Tennessee is averaging $3.770 per gallon, which places the Volunteer State somewhere in the middle of the national pack—an achievement nobody asked for. Across the country, the average sits at $4.042 per gallon, just in case anyone needed reassurance that this is a shared experience.

For perspective, prices have not yet returned to the chaos of the June 2022 gas price spike, when regular unleaded hit $4.64 and diesel surged to $5.64. So yes, technically things have been worse. That doesn’t make today’s receipt any easier to look at.

Drivers of luxury vehicles may enjoy arriving at the pump in style, only to discover their vehicle’s appetite requires frequent visits. Premium fuel in Tennessee averages around $4.60 per gallon, while out in California, it climbs to $6.25. At that point, one assumes the fuel comes with a complimentary apology.

Diesel drivers aren’t exactly celebrating either. Tennessee’s diesel average is $5.32 per gallon, which is slightly lower than last week’s $5.46—but still high enough to make long-haul routes feel like financial endurance tests.

For those planning a cross-country escape from all of this, Oklahoma currently offers the lowest gas prices at $3.37 per gallon, followed by Kansas at $3.47 and Iowa at $3.54. Tennessee, meanwhile, sits at number 19 among the top 20 states for fuel costs—an oddly specific place to land.

At the other extreme, California continues to dominate the category no one wants to win, with regular unleaded averaging $5.83 and diesel reaching $7.53 per gallon. Evidently, out west, gasoline has achieved collector’s item status.

So, while Rutherford County drivers may not be thrilled with current prices, they can at least take solace in one fact: somewhere else in Tennessee, someone just paid more—and probably sighed just as loudly.

Source: AAA Auto Club