{"id":215085,"date":"2026-03-11T16:33:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/215085\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T16:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:33:13","slug":"southern-california-gas-prices-surge-to-highest-levels-since-early-2024-see-a-county-by-county-breakdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/215085\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern California gas prices surge to highest levels since early 2024: See a county-by-county breakdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LOS ANGELES – A relentless surge in gas prices<\/a> is battering Southern California<\/a> drivers as local averages hit their highest marks in nearly two years, fueled by a volatile mix of tightening global supplies and a shrinking domestic refining landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This rapid escalation, characterized by weeks of consecutive daily increases, has pushed costs at the pump well above the $5 threshold across the region, sparking concerns over sustained inflationary pressure on the heels of the spring travel<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

A sign displays the prices of unleaded gasoline at a Chevron gas station in Palo Alto, California, US, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Photographer: David Paul Morris\/Bloomberg via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

Regional average prices (regular self-serve) by county <\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday, March 11, gas prices across Southern California broke record highs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Los Angeles County <\/a>leads the region with an average of $5.376, followed closely by Orange County<\/a> at $5.339. The Inland Empire<\/a> and Ventura County<\/a> have also seen aggressive jumps, with every major Southern California county now averaging well above $5.00 per gallon.<\/p>\n

Here’s a breakdown by county:<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Average price: $5.376Change vs. last month: +82.2 cents Orange Average price: $5.339Change vs. last month: +86.3 cents Riverside Average price: $5.267Change vs. last month: +80.9 cents San Bernardino Average price: $5.285\u00a0Change vs. last month: +81.4 cents Ventura Average price: $5.318Change vs. last month: +79.1 cents Why are prices rising? <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

The current spike is being driven by a “perfect storm” of global and local factors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Internationally, the ongoing war with Iran<\/a> has destabilized global energy markets, pushing crude oil prices toward $100 per barrel and causing immediate ripples at the pump.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Locally, California’s status as a “fuel island” makes it uniquely vulnerable; the impending closure of the Phillips 66 refinery in Los Angeles<\/a> and the Valero facility in Benicia has significantly reduced the state’s refining capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SUGGESTED:<\/p>\n

Because California requires a specialized, eco-friendly blend that cannot be easily imported from other states, any reduction in local production leads to a rapid and dramatic increase in retail costs.<\/p>\n

\"New <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

“In just a week, consumers<\/a> have seen gasoline prices surge at one of the fastest rates in years,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.<\/p>\n

Analysts from AAA note that while these increases are “aggressive,” the current prices are still roughly $1.12 below the record-breaking highs of over $6.40 seen in October 2022.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Market analysts warn that if geopolitical tensions do not ease, or if further supply disruptions occur, California could see averages climb toward the $6 mark before the summer travel season begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

State legislators are currently facing pressure to address the “refinery gap” to prevent further price shocks as more facilities prepare to wind down operations.<\/p>\n

The Source: This report is compiled is based on data provided by AAA, the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), and GasBuddy\u2019s real-time fuel tracking. Additional context regarding refinery closures and impacts were gathered from reports by the University of California, Davis, and the California Energy Commission.<\/p>\n

Gas Prices<\/a>Money<\/a>Consumer<\/a>Economy<\/a>Business<\/a>Instastories<\/a>Viral<\/a>California<\/a>Los Angeles County<\/a>Orange County<\/a>San Bernardino County<\/a>Riverside County<\/a>Ventura County<\/a>Inland Empire<\/a>Travel News<\/a>Travel<\/a>Transportation<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES – A relentless surge in gas prices is battering Southern California drivers as local averages hit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[387,1184,7,9,8,7948,147,5519,2444,971,137,4263,100,611,612,5518,425,1967,2422,7567,1181,6757,1226,7916],"class_list":["post-215085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-consumer","tag-gas-prices","tag-ie","tag-instastories","tag-lifestyle","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-money","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-riverside-county","tag-san-bernardino-county","tag-series","tag-transportation","tag-travel","tag-travel-news","tag-us","tag-us-economy","tag-ventura-county","tag-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}