Life News
Record 45 million Memorial Day travellers meet the highest holiday gas prices since 2022
AAA expects a record 45 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday, May 21, and Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, beating last year's 44.8 million, NBC4 Washington reported. A record 39.1 million will drive. Air travel is also expected to rise, though early bookers found lower fares before the war with Iran pushed up jet fuel costs. Orlando tops domestic destinations and Rome international ones, and AAA advises driving before 11 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
"Travel demand remains strong, and despite higher fuel prices, many people are prioritizing leisure travel" — Stacey Barber, AAA, via ABC News
The fuel bill is the story at the pump. Quartz, republished by Yahoo Finance on May 22, put the AAA national average at $4.56 a gallon, $1.38 above a year earlier and the highest for the holiday since 2022, when it hit $4.61. Every state is above $4; California averages $6.14 and Mississippi is lowest at $4.01. GasBuddy projects a summer average of $4.80, and Quartz cited Brown University's Climate Solutions Lab, which put the cumulative gasoline cost since the Iran war began at about $24 billion, roughly $200 per household. ABC News reported a Friday average of $4.55, up about 42% on a year earlier, and said GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan expected prices to dip below $4.50 by the holiday.
How each outlet framed it
- NBC4 Washington — the record traveller count, destinations and the best times to drive.
- Quartz — state-by-state gas prices and the war's cost to households.
- ABC News — the weekend price and the short-term outlook.
Where the numbers differ: Quartz says seven states are above $5 a gallon and California is at $6.14; ABC News counts six states and $6.13. Both use AAA data, but from slightly different days.