Montana’s High Gas Prices: When Will They Drop?

Latasha Fitzgerald, a Missoula resident, travels for work and has spent $50 on gas per trip this summer. The company she works for reimburses her, but it’s a lot to spend out-of-pocket, and even worse, the higher prices have affected her personal plans.

She can’t drive back home as often because the cost of gas makes it too expensive, said Fitzgerald, who is originally from Browning.

“I don’t get to go home as much now, which is really disheartening because I love going home,” Fitzgerald said. “But then I just stay in town, and then I don’t really get to do much in town.”

The average price of a gallon of gas in Montana went up 11 cents compared to last month, according to a July 22 press release from GasBuddy, an app that compares gas prices. At an average of $3.52 per gallon, that’s about five cents more expensive than the national average.

The increase isn’t unusual, said Julian Paredes, a spokesperson for AAA Mountain West Group. Generally, gas does tend to become more expensive during the summer, he said.

“A lot of it has to do with demand, and demand just might be higher in Montana just because there is a lot of tourism there right now,” Paredes said.

Visitors on their way to national parks could account for some of the increase. As summer tourism begins to wind down, the price of gas could go down, too, Patrick De Haan, head petroleum analyst for Gas Buddy, said in the press release. The average price of a gallon of gas in Montana dropped by 1.7 cents from last week.

“For now, as we approach the end of summer vacations, I’m hopeful gas prices will continue to edge slightly lower in the week ahead,” De Haan said in the release.

However, gas prices come down to more than just demand. Two other factors affect the cost of gas in the summer: The cost of oil and hurricane season, which runs from June to the end of November, Paredes said.

Neither are particularly predictable. The cost of oil is influenced by global conflicts, like the war in Ukraine and the Israel/Hamas war. And although Hurricane Beryl, which swept through the Gulf Coast in early July, didn’t have an impact on the cost of gas, future storms could.

Instead, drivers who are trying to save money on gas should focus on what they can control — their vehicle’s condition. Drivers should make sure their car is in good shape and their tires properly inflated.

“It will help your car get the most out of the gas that you’re paying for, so you can get the most mileage, most distance out of the gas that you’re using,” Paredes said. “Flat tires or improperly inflated tires, that can really kill your mileage. So, that’s a really easy thing that you can do quickly.”

Drivers should shop around for gas, Paredes said. Instead of going for the nearest station, drivers can use apps or websites to find the cheapest gas in their area.

“There’s a lot of apps, a lot of tools out there that can help you find the cheapest gas station, because you know they can vary pretty dramatically from location to location,” he said. “So using an app is a pretty handy thing to find the cheapest gas that’s available.”

And for some, like Fitzgerald, finding ways to cut down on driving is also necessary.

Dylan Cherullo, a Missoula resident, has been avoiding driving to and from work every day, instead catching rides from friends, walking or taking the bus so he can save money on gas. Although prices are higher in other states, he said Montana feels the increase more deeply.

“Montana feels it a lot harder because our wages are a lot lower, and we’re a lot more car dependent,” Cherullo said.