Wisconsin drivers will pay an average of $3.16 per gallon of regular gasoline this month versus $2.26 last year. This is a 40 percent increase equaling $0.90 per gallon.
Of the 15 Wisconsin metropolitan areas analyzed, drivers in La Crosse (WI only) faced the largest price hike at the pump in the last year of $53.44. Superior was spared the worst pain, with the price of gas rising $43.71 from February 2021 to February 2022.
In November 2021, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) blamed President Joe Biden and Democrats for the gas price increases.
”Gasoline prices and home heating prices are up because Democrats have a war on fossil fuels. What was the first thing that President Biden did when he came into office? He canceled construction of the Keystone pipeline. He’s threatening shutting down pipeline No. 5 which supplies gas into Michigan and the upper Midwest. They are intentionally driving up the cost of energy,” Johnson said in a radio interview.
Johnson said Biden should focus on making the U.S. energy independent and no longer reliant on foreign producers of oil, like Russia, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
Biden, who opposes increasing domestic U.S. energy production, is blaming those countries for higher gas prices, demanding they pump more oil to lower prices for U.S. consumers. They have so far rebuffed his requests.
In November 2021, Biden also called for a federal investigation into oil companies, saying higher gas prices are not the result of market forces, but rather their ”illegal conduct.”
Gas prices across the US hit a seven-year high following a significant drop at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The price of gas, derived from the cost of oil manufactured around the world, has the power to substantially change the free market and influence many industries.
A short-term outlook report from the US Energy Information Administration predicted gas rates will fall throughout 2022.
Wisconsin drivers average 1,286.8 miles and use 53.2 gallons of gasoline per month, according to the FHA.
| Market | 2022 | 2021 | CHG | % | Total increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse (WI only) | $3.33 | $2.33 | $1.01 | 43.2% | $53.44 |
| Green Bay | $3.19 | $2.21 | $0.98 | 44.1% | $51.85 |
| Fond du Lac | $3.14 | $2.18 | $0.97 | 44.3% | $51.31 |
| Wausau | $3.21 | $2.27 | $0.94 | 41.2% | $49.77 |
| Pierce -St. Croix County | $3.27 | $2.36 | $0.91 | 38.4% | $48.23 |
| Sheboygan | $3.14 | $2.24 | $0.90 | 40.3% | $47.86 |
| Appleton | $3.08 | $2.19 | $0.90 | 41.0% | $47.64 |
| Madison | $3.12 | $2.23 | $0.89 | 40.1% | $47.54 |
| Kenosha County | $3.14 | $2.25 | $0.89 | 39.5% | $47.27 |
| Eau Claire | $3.25 | $2.37 | $0.89 | 37.5% | $47.22 |
| Janesville-Beloit | $3.12 | $2.23 | $0.89 | 39.7% | $47.11 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha | $3.12 | $2.23 | $0.88 | 39.6% | $47.01 |
| Racine | $3.12 | $2.26 | $0.86 | 38.0% | $45.68 |
| Oshkosh | $3.08 | $2.23 | $0.85 | 37.9% | $45.04 |
| Superior | $3.19 | $2.37 | $0.82 | 34.7% | $43.71 |
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