San Antonio has the second cheapest gas prices of U.S. cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

San Antonio drivers spent an average of $2.95 for every gallon of gas in February, per GasBuddy data. That's down 10% compared to last February, but up 1% from this January.
- Nationally, the average gas price was $3.40 per gallon in February — down 6% year over year, but up 2% from January.
The big picture: Cheaper gas is good news for consumers, especially commuters.
Yes, but: Lower prices may disincentivize drivers from switching to more efficient cars, going electric, or embracing public transit — all of which can have big environmental benefits.
Why it matters: More than three-quarters of American commuters drive to and from work, meaning they're particularly sensitive to the ebbs and flows of prices at the pump — especially as other basic goods also get more expensive.
- Gas prices are also a political football, rightfully so or not.
- When they're high, many Americans tend to blame whoever's sitting in the Oval Office — even though, as Axios' Andrew Freedman has reported, the president lacks significant control over the cost of commodities priced on global markets, oil included.
Driving the news: Crude oil prices have fallen over the past year, leading to cheaper automotive gas.
- A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude — a common industry benchmark — costs around $76 as of late February, down from about $114 in June 2022.
- Oil prices spiked last year amid uncertainty over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions that followed against Russia — a major oil producer.
- While the fighting drags on, oil markets have largely stabilized, as CNN reports.
Zoom in: San Antonio's February gas prices were the second cheapest of 31 cities analyzed.
- Houston drivers are enjoying some of the cheapest prices nationwide, at just $2.93 per gallon.
Zoom out: San Francisco has among the country's highest average gas prices, at $4.76 per gallon in February. (Taxes, regulations and snags with local refining operations can sometimes lead to higher prices in California.)
Reality check: As Axios' Joann Muller recently found, charging an EV isn't always significantly cheaper than filling a tank with gasoline — especially on road trips.
- Electric cars aren't perfectly clean, either. Mining for the requisite materials can damage local ecosystems, while EVs' environmental benefit is reduced if they're charged with "dirty power" from, say, a coal plant.

