MN Thanksgiving Gas Costs: Up, Down, Or About The Same?

If you’re filling up before hitting the road this Thanksgiving, you might notice Minnesota’s gas prices aren’t quite the same as they were a year ago. But are we paying more or less at the pump this year?

Last Thanksgiving, many of us found that we had more money left in our wallets, as travel costs were now at their lowest level in years here in Minnesota. But how are those costs looking here in 2025?

Minnesota’s Thanksgiving Gas Prices Show a Surprising Shift

If you're like many Minnesotans, the Thanksgiving holiday involves traveling. According to AAA Minnesota, 6.54 million people from the West North Central Region, which includes Minnesota, will travel at least 50 miles from home during the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday period.

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This year, that period is set to run from Tuesday, November 25, to Monday, December 1. Those travel figures represent just under a 2 percent increase over last year and continue the growing trend for Thanksgiving travel in our region, which also includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota and South Dakota.

Here in the Bold North, of course, most of that traveling involves driving. In fact, AAA notes that over 89 percent of Thanksgiving travel is done in the car, with the busiest travel days expected to be Tuesday, Nov. 25th, and Wednesday, Nov. 26th.

AAA Data Reveals How 2025 Pump Prices Compare to Last Year

And when it comes to fuel prices, AAA Minnesota says there is good news-- and bad news this year. First, the good news: gas prices across the Land of 10,000 Lakes are still below the national average. But here's the bad news: gas prices *are* slightly higher across much of Minnesota than during the Thanksgiving travel period in 2024.

Minnesota Pump Prices Are Still Low—But Higher Than 2024

According to AAA Minnesota, as of Nov. 18, 2025, the statewide average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is sitting at $2.94 a gallon. That's over 13 cents under the national average of $3.07 a gallon.

However, compared to a year ago, we're paying around 5 cents more per gallon here in 2025 than we did at Thanksgiving last year. In 2024, AAA Minnesota reports that the statewide average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $2.89.

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While 5 cents isn't that much of an increase, it *is* above the price we were paying at the pump during the Thanksgiving holiday. However, both are quite a bit less than the highest-ever price for gasoline in the North Star State, which AAA Minnesota says was a whopping $4.75 a gallon, which occurred on June 15, 2022.

Speaking of gas prices, do you remember how cheap they were when you first started driving? (What did we do with all that extra money back then?!?) Keep scrolling to take a walk down memory lane and check out the price we paid when you first got your driver's license!

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