Where Twin Cities area drivers are finding the best deals on gasoline

Cars pulled up to Speedway in New Hope but few were filling up. A gallon of regular unleaded was marked at $4.60 — the highest price in the Twin Cities.

Around noon on Tuesday, after more than a half-hour when no one purchased gas at the station, Rose McKernon of Plymouth pulled in and filled her Silverado 4x4 pickup. Price: $87.33.

"I basically don't pay attention because it's a necessity," McKernon said. "This was just convenient for me."

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Minnesota was $3.93 on Thursday, edging closer to the 2013 nominal high of $4.28 a gallon. Cost-conscious consumers are adjusting their driving and gas-shopping behaviors. Others are resigned to absorbing the higher cost.

Nationally, the average price was $4.29 per gallon, according to AAA. California recorded the highest statewide average at $5.79.

In recent days, the Speedway in New Hope has gone for stretches when it mainly sees customers pop in for sodas and snacks. An employee, who asked not have his name disclosed, said even he doesn't fill up there because of the high price.

But on the other side of the Twin Cities, the gas pumps at Costco in Burnsville were backed up with an endless stream of vehicles. There, a gallon of regular unleaded was priced at $3.69 on Tuesday for warehouse club members.

Brittany Czaja of Lakeville, who was filling up her Toyota RAV4 hybrid, called the higher prices terrible. "I definitely drive farther to go to Costco because it's cheaper," she said.

Today's prices are a stark contrast to the spring of 2020, when the pandemic shut down the economy and squelched demand for gas. A gallon of regular unleaded dipped to under $2 in the Twin Cities.

Some of the lowest prices per gallon in the region on Thursday, according to GasBuddy, included a Mobil on County Road 11 in Burnsville at $3.62; Quik Trip on Palomino Drive in Apple Valley at $3.62, and Sam's Club in Shakopee at $3.64.

At the Burnsville Costco on Tuesday, Abby Anderson of Lakeville said she's filling up her Pacifica minivan more frequently because she expects the price to keep rising. "I'm willing to wait in a bit of a line if I'll get it 40 to 50 cents cheaper," she said. "It adds up."

Terri Vien of Montevideo said her husband keeps track of gas prices. "I know it's going up and up and up," she said. Her strategy is to pump gas at Costco whenever possible. The discount on gas and other goods at warehouse retailers like Costco and Sam's Club is offset somewhat by the annual membership fees they charge.

After returning from seeing her first grandchild in Iowa, Ann Miller of Minneapolis stopped to fill up at Costco. While she's concerned about the rising price of gas, she said she tries to put it into context by thinking of larger global issues such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

"It's so weird. Maybe it's being in the middle of a continent. Do we even know there's a war going on?" Miller asked, as she filled her tank.

Czaja, a makeup artist, is making changes to cope with the rising price of gas, which cost her $42.80 for about 11 gallons. To limit her number of total trips, she combines her stops for gas with other shopping before heading home. Czaja stopped using her vehicle's auto-start feature in another move to try to cut gas costs.

She canceled an appointment at her West St. Paul studio and moved it to another day to economize and avoid making the round trip from Lakeville for only one client.

But her busiest time of year is yet to come. Given that she'll be driving more to make up brides for weddings around the Twin Cities as warmer temperatures approach, Czaja is bracing for higher commuting costs.

"It's going to be a rough summer," she said.