The Sconi

It's a miserable Memorial Day milestone for Wisconsin drivers: the highest inflation-adjusted gasoline prices in the past decade.

"Heading into this Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline was $4.59 per gallon, the highest inflation-adjusted (real) price since 2012," the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a news release today.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline on an annualized basis. The latest index shows the average Wisconsin resident will spend an average of $895 more this year than they did last year.

Gasoline prices continued to either rise or remain steady this week, but have yet to decline, the index showed. Today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.60, nearly 50 cents higher than a month ago. The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that on average, Americans will spend $814 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year. In the state of Wisconsin, the average gas price $4.35 per gallon and the misery number sits at $895.               

AAA reported that, according to new data from the EIA, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 500,000 barrels to 219.7 million barrels last week. Gasoline demand also dipped slightly from 9 million barrels per day to 8.8 million barrels per day, which is why prices have remained relatively steady in the past seven days.                 

Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, GasBuddy asked Americans about inflation’s effects on their travel plans. According to the report, 70% said their summer travel plans have been affected by high gas prices, an increase of 24% over 2021.  

“Against a backdrop of gas prices that have continued to set new records ahead of Memorial Day, Americans have been resilient in their desire to hit the road, but we’re certainly seeing increased hesitancy due to rising prices at the pump," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "Soaring inflation has led to uncertainty over rising costs."

 According to a AAA report, more than 39 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during Memorial Day weekend. Drivers can expect to pay an average of  51% more to fill up their tanks this weekend when compared last year.      

The Gasoline Misery Index is compiled using gas price data from AAA, average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy, and average miles driven from MetroMile.com. The index tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars. 

According to the EIA, in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline  was $2.33. It has increased 97% when compared to today's national average price of $4.60. In a number that gasolinemiseryindex.com calls the Biden Misery Index, Americans are spending an average of $1,192 more per year on gasoline today since President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021.