Rockford area gas prices are currently hovering around $2.19 per gallon, which is 5 cents lower than last week when gas prices only dropped about a penny.

It's one of those funny little ironies of life in 2020. You're probably driving a lot less (as many Americans are), and gas prices fall. I'm sure that when our "weekly miles driven" numbers go back up, so will the price of gas.

The analysts at GasBuddy say that gas prices in Rockford are 3.9 cents per gallon lower than they were a month ago and are sitting at 38.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average price of gas has fallen 1.1 cents per gallon in the last week, and is 47.2 cents lower than a year ago. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.16.

You can go even lower than the current average of $2.19 if you take a look around. GasBuddy's Rockford-area gas prices page shows multiple listings of gas prices in our area at $1.93 per gallon.

Okay, so it's pretty clear than many of us have put any and all travel plans for the remainder of this year on hold. However, a new survey I was just reading says that over 70% of Americans are really looking forward to getting away on some sort of trip in 2021, just in time for gas prices to head back up again. And, many of those who took part in the survey say that they're planning on driving over flying somewhere.

When it comes to domestic travel in 2021, Americans say that they're headed for "uncrowded spaces" like beaches and national parks. Places that are deemed "traditionally popular," like New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, and other cities scored much lower among would-be travelers. It seems the "within driving distance" model is going to be big next year.

 

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