Raleigh gas prices jump above $4 a gallon, commuters feel the pinch
Raleigh’s average jumped to $4.12 a gallon, adding 21 cents in a week and raising costs for Wake County commutes, work trucks and summer trips.
A 21-cent weekly jump pushed Raleigh gas to $4.12 a gallon, and that is hitting Wake County wallets now. The city’s average sat slightly above North Carolina’s $4.077 mark but below the national regular-gas average of $4.457, a reminder that Triangle drivers are paying more even before they leave local roads.
The latest spike extends a spring run-up that has been building for weeks. On April 28, Raleigh’s average was $4.01, North Carolina’s was $3.94 and the national average was $4.18. Just days earlier, Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy said Triangle prices were likely to hover around $4 a gallon as uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz kept pressure on fuel markets, a risk that now looks more visible at the pump.
The national backdrop has been volatile. GasBuddy said on April 6 that the U.S. average gasoline price had climbed to $4.08, after rising 11.8 cents in a single week. AAA later reported that the national average reached $4.16 on April 9, the first time it had hit that level since early August 2022. By May 4, AAA put the national average at $4.457, showing how quickly the market has moved higher this spring.
For people who drive for work, the increase is not theoretical. In the April 28 Raleigh-area report, one driver said he spent $92 to fill up his work truck. Local truck drivers have said higher fuel prices cut into how much they can drive and how much they keep in their pockets, while other drivers are watching for the cheapest stations because fuel is such a large part of daily expenses.
Diesel prices are adding to the strain for working drivers, and that matters across Wake County’s delivery routes, construction sites and commuter corridors. When gasoline pushes above $4 a gallon, the effect reaches school drop-offs, rides to downtown Raleigh, summer road trips and the cost of moving goods through the Triangle.
The latest jump suggests this is more than a one-day blip. With Raleigh back above $4 and global supply concerns still hanging over the market, local drivers are likely to face more expensive fill-ups before they see meaningful relief.
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