MW Here's where to find the cheapest gas in America right now - up to 34 cents a gallon below the national average

By Venessa Wong

With the national average gas price surpassing $4 per gallon, membership clubs, with their steep discounts at the pump, are increasingly attractive to U.S. drivers

Average prices at the pump in California are approaching $6 a gallon.

Gas prices, which have climbed by about $1 per gallon on a year-on-year basis to an average of $4.11 nationwide, are already hitting Americans' wallets.

Spending at the pump in March increased 16.5% month-over-month, according to data from Bank of America Institute.

To save on fuel costs, Americans are biking to work, pooling their trips and adjusting travel plans, as MarketWatch previously reported. Those who can are looking for cheaper gas in their areas.

Where are drivers finding the cheapest gas? Among America's largest gasoline retailers, the big membership clubs - Costco $(COST)$, Sam's Club and BJ's $(BJ)$ - are offering the best prices, according to data provided to MarketWatch by Oil Price Information Service. Costco's gas prices are $0.34 per gallon below the national average, while Sam's Club and BJ's members are saving $0.26 per gallon. OPIS, like MarketWatch, is owned by Dow Jones.

Other retailers with lower-than-average gas prices included Fred Meyer, Safeway, ARCO, Sam's Club parent Walmart $(WMT)$, Buc-ee's, H-E-B and Murphy Express.

Warehouse clubs Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's can offset their low retail prices with membership fees and have even sold gas at a loss to draw customers in to buy other, profitable products and to attract new customers. These companies did not immediately respond to inquiries from MarketWatch. The annual cost of a membership starts at $65 at Costco, $50 at Sam's Club and $60 at BJ's, and they offer discounts for new customers that nearly cover the cost of the first year of membership.

Related: Smart ways to save money on gas right now

Costco and the other membership stores don't operate in all 50 states, and many other brands are regional, so these savings are not accessible to drivers who do not live near one of these stations, noted Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at OPIS. It is not practical for everyone to drive long distances - and then possibly encounter long lines - to refill their tanks at lower prices.

"What is the value of your time? Using the average-sized tank of 15 gallons, if I am saving $0.30, that is less than $5," Cinquegrana told MarketWatch. Even if a driver wants to take advantage of this discount, it still may not be possible for them to make, say, a 30-minute trip to save $5, he said.

Rising gas prices are attracting attention from the Trump administration, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying on Wednesday morning that regulators will "keep the retail gas stations honest" and monitor prices at the pump once oil prices start to go down. Bessent said during a White House press briefing that he is optimistic "that sometime between June 20 and Sept. 20, that we can have $3 gas again."

MarketWatch has reached out to the Treasury Department for comment.

Cinquegrana does not expect a quick return to sub-$3 gas for drivers in the U.S. "I think you can kiss that goodbye for 2026," he said. "Even after the conflict ends, there's a messy cleanup that is going to take a couple of months before things 'normalize.' Oil prices are likely to stay elevated because depleted inventories will need to be refilled."

Average spending on gasoline was about $2,411 - or 3.1% of all annual household spending - in 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The last time average gas prices hit $4 per gallon, in 2022, households spent an average of $2,805 on gasoline, representing 3.8% of overall expenses.

Lower-income consumers are disproportionately impacted by the recent price rise, with gasoline making up a larger share of their overall spending, according to the Bank of America Institute.

Robert Schroeder contributed.

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-Venessa Wong

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April 15, 2026 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)

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