Is it just me or are the gas prices just skyrocketing lately? In November of 2020 gas was 1.93 a gallon on average in the state of Minnesota. Today it's right around three dollars!

I drive what basically amounts to a go kart, a 2012 Honda Civic, that gets about 39-40 miles to the gallon. My heart goes out to all the big truck drivers, construction trucks and all the vehicles that hold much, much more than my 11 gallon tank!

The question is whether gas has disproportionately risen lately or if it is just the natural ebb-and-flow of things. I think part of the problem is that the extremely low price of gas during the pandemic is giving us the impression that it is overpriced today.

I drove to Apple Valley to get some groceries for my grandpa in the early stages of the pandemic and got a full tank (again, 11 gallons) for $11.25. On Sunday I filled up in town and got a tank for $33.07. Almost three times as much!

Let's take a look at gas prices for this week over the last few years, per the US Energy and Information Administration.

June 2015: 2.69
June 2016: 2.22
June 2017: 2.20
June 2018: 2.83
June 2019: 2.70

I tend to think that we can throw out the 2020 data due to the pandemic and historically low number of people driving. I am not nearly smart enough to know the "why" when it comes to gas prices, but they are pretty similar today to what they were in 2018.

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Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Minnesota using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

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