Gas prices have jumped sharply across Northeast Ohio, with the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline rising above $4.40 in both Akron and Cleveland in a single week. WNIR reported on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that drivers in Akron are now paying an average of $4.42 per gallon after prices surged about 35 cents since last week, according to new data released by GasBuddy on Monday, and that Cleveland’s average is also $4.42 a gallon after jumping about 33 cents in the same period.
Figures compiled by Stacker using AAA data, current as of Oct. 26, confirm the same climb and put the statewide average at $4.40. In those figures, Akron averaged $4.43, up 35 cents, or 8.7 percent, in a week, while the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria metro averaged $4.42, up 34 cents, or 8.3 percent. Both trackers agree Cleveland-area drivers are paying roughly a dollar and a half more than a year ago — $1.48 higher in the GasBuddy data reported by WNIR, and $1.45 higher in the AAA figures compiled by Stacker.
The increase was not limited to the region’s two largest metros. Stacker, using AAA data, reported the Canton-Massillon average at $4.43 a gallon, up 31 cents in a week and $1.56 higher than a year ago, and the Mansfield average also at $4.43, up 37 cents — the largest weekly jump among the Northeast Ohio metros it tracked. The Youngstown-Warren metro remained the region’s cheapest at $4.30 a gallon, but even there prices rose 27 cents in a week and were $1.43 higher than a year earlier, according to Stacker.
Diesel drivers face an even steeper increase. In the AAA figures compiled by Stacker, diesel averaged $6.59 in the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria metro, up 30 cents in a week and $2.85 higher than a year ago, and $6.60 in Akron, up 44 cents in a week. Those costs flow directly into deliveries, freight and farm work across the region, adding pressure well beyond the family car.
For a household budget, the weekly jump alone is noticeable. At $4.42 a gallon, filling a 12-gallon tank costs about $53 — roughly $4 more than a week ago. The increase lands as families drive to work and school, to Halloween events this week and to high school playoff games, with little ability to simply skip the trips.
The current averages remain below the region’s all-time highs, but the gap has narrowed. Stacker, citing AAA data, lists Cleveland’s record as $5.05 a gallon, set June 9, 2022, and Akron’s as $5.06, set June 8, 2022. Northeast Ohio drivers are now within about 65 cents of those records.
Drivers should remember the GasBuddy and AAA figures are metro averages, so individual stations across Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark and surrounding counties can sit noticeably above or below them. GasBuddy and AAA publish updated averages regularly, and the next updates will show whether this surge was a one-week spike or the start of another climb toward the 2022 records.
Photo: Percival Kestreltail, CC BY-SA