⛽ New Jersey gas prices are averaging $4.29 a gallon, nearly 43% higher than a year ago.
💸 Filling a 15-gallon tank costs approximately $19 more than it did last October.
📍 Cape May County has one of the highest verified AAA averages, while prices vary across the state.
Remember when paying $3 a gallon for gasoline seemed expensive?
Those days are apparently long gone.
New Jersey drivers are paying nearly 43% more for regular gasoline than they were a year ago.
According to AAA, the statewide average stood at $4.29 a gallon on Wednesday, October 14.
A year ago, it was just $3.01.
That may not sound like an enormous difference until you start filling your tank.
NJ gas prices are costing drivers hundreds more
Consider a vehicle with a 15-gallon gas tank.
At today’s statewide average, filling it costs approximately $64.42.
A year ago, the same fill-up would have cost $45.15.
That’s an additional $19.27 every time you visit the pump.
New Jersey regular gasoline prices averaged $4.29 per gallon on October 14, 2026. Cape May County had the highest average among the AAA regions shown. Source: AAA.
Fill up once a week, and you’re spending roughly $1,000 more annually, assuming prices and your driving habits remain unchanged.
For families with multiple vehicles or workers facing long commutes, the impact can be even greater.
Where is gasoline most expensive in New Jersey?
As usual, where you buy your gasoline can make a difference.
AAA’s October 14 figures put regular gasoline in Cape May County at approximately $4.42 per gallon.
The Newark metropolitan market averaged $4.34, while the combined Monmouth-Ocean market was also around $4.34.
The Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon region averaged $4.30.
Prices were somewhat lower in the Trenton market, at approximately $4.24, and the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia market, at $4.25.
According to AAA, Camden Coounty has the lowest average cost at $4.23 per gallon. Cape May County has the highest average price at $4.42 per gallon.
Even within the same county, motorists can encounter different prices depending on the station.
Why are NJ gas prices still so high?
New Jersey’s statewide average is slightly below the national figure of $4.33.
But that offers little comfort when compared with what drivers were paying last fall.
Interestingly, prices have eased somewhat in recent weeks.
AAA reports New Jersey’s average was approximately $4.42 a month ago, meaning prices have fallen about 13 cents per gallon since mid-September.
Still, they’re nowhere near last year’s levels.
The statewide average also remains below New Jersey’s record of approximately $5.06 per gallon, set in June 2022.
Another hit to New Jersey’s affordability
Gasoline is one expense New Jersey residents have limited ability to avoid.
You can postpone a vacation or cut back on restaurant meals.
But if you need your car to get to work, take the kids to school or run everyday errands, you still need to fill the tank.
And compared with October 2025, that tank is taking a much bigger bite out of the family budget.
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