Laramie County Pumps the Brakes: Gas Slips to $2.68, 2nd-Cheapest in Wyoming

With input from Cap City News, Wyoming Tribune Eagle, and K2 Radio.

Good news at the pump for Laramie County drivers: prices eased another 4 cents and now average $2.68 a gallon, making the county second-cheapest in Wyoming this week. If you’re hunting for the absolute lowest fill-up, Sam’s Club (1948 Dell Range Blvd.) is posting $2.61, with Maverik (140 Gardenia Dr.) and Loaf ’N Jug (534 Vandehei Ave.) close behind at $2.63, according to GasBuddy.

Nationally, gas nudged down 1.4 cents in the last week to $2.99/gal (GasBuddy), off 14.8 cents from a month ago and 6.6 cents year over year. AAA pegs the US average a hair higher at $3.03, down 2 cents week over week. Here in Wyoming, AAA says the state average dipped 1 cent to $2.92.

Diesel is doing its own thing: the national average rose 2.5 cents to $3.663/gal. That matters for freight and farm costs — and eventually for prices on store shelves.

“The national average once again briefly dipped below the $3 per gallon mark, but the drop will be short-lived,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

Refinery hiccups in the Great Lakes and a refinery snag in California could slow or reverse declines, he added. OPEC+ signaled more production for December but a pause in increases Jan–Mar, suggesting national prices hover in the low-$3 range until refinery issues clear.

County leaderboard: Natrona still No. 1, Laramie climbing

• #1 Natrona County: $2.56 (down 9¢) — cheapest in Wyoming for 11 straight weeks

• #2 Laramie County: $2.68 — up two spots from last week

• #3 Converse County: $2.70 — leapfrogged Campbell and Albany

Statewide, Wyoming’s average (GasBuddy survey of ~500 stations) landed at $2.85, down 0.9¢ on the week, and now 17.5¢ lower than a month ago and 25.7¢ cheaper than a year ago. Price spread remains wide: $2.38–$3.49 across the state — a $1.11 swing depending on where you fill up.

Oil market dynamics: Prices have been treading water. Early Monday trade had:

• WTI: $60.95/bbl (down from $61.53 last Monday)

• Brent: $64.73/bbl (down from $65.96)

Analysts cite a tug-of-war: new sanctions on Russian exports vs. OPEC’s December production bump (with a Q1 pause) and sizable US inventory draws. As UBS’s Giovanni Staunovo put it, crude has “moved nearly sideways,” with draws supporting prices but skepticism about how much supply sanctions actually remove.

Supply snapshot (EIA, week ending Oct. 24, 2025):

• US crude stocks: –6.9 million bbl (≈6% below seasonal avg)

• Strategic Petroleum Reserve: +0.5 million bbl to 409.1 million

• Gasoline inventories: –5.9 million bbl (≈3% below five-year seasonal avg)

• Distillates: –3.4 million bbl (≈8% below five-year seasonal avg)

• Refinery utilization: 86.6% (–2.0 percentage points)

• Implied gasoline demand: 8.924 million bpd (+470,000 bpd)

Translation: strong product draws plus lower refinery runs often support prices — but so far, retail gas is still coasting lower thanks to soft crude and seasonal demand patterns. The wild card is refinery reliability; if outages drag on, the slide can stall quickly (especially regionally).

Most common US gas prices:

$2.99 (up 10¢ on the week) leads, followed by $2.89, $2.79, $2.69, $2.59.

Median price: $2.89 (up 2¢; ~10¢ below the average — more stations are cheaper than the mean).

Top/bottom 10% of stations:

• Top 10%: $4.41/gal

• Bottom 10%: $2.37/gal

Cheapest states:

Oklahoma ($2.48), Texas ($2.48), Louisiana ($2.53)

Priciest states:

California ($4.61), Hawaii ($4.43), Washington ($4.23)

Biggest weekly movers:

Down: Indiana (–13.3¢), Texas (–10.0¢), Michigan (–9.8¢), Washington (–9.0¢), Iowa (–8.8¢)
Up (diesel standouts include): New Jersey (+14.6¢), Florida (+10.4¢), Oklahoma (+7.7¢), Wyoming (+6.9¢), Nebraska (–6.8¢)

Neighborhood check: regional snapshots

• Fort Collins: $2.73 (–4.4¢)

• Ogden: $3.13 (–7.3¢)

• Billings: $2.98 (–1.9¢)

Wyoming’s border markets are mostly softening, too — good news for anyone crossing state lines for errands or road trips.

Wyoming’s average on Nov. 3 across the last decade:

• 2024: $3.11 (US: $3.05)

• 2023: $3.47 (US: $3.40)

• 2022: $3.64 (US: $3.77)

• 2021: $3.42 (US: $3.40)

• 2020: $2.10 (US: $2.10)

• 2019: $2.66 (US: $2.60)

• 2018: $2.88 (US: $2.75)

• 2017: $2.48 (US: $2.52)

• 2016: $2.16 (US: $2.22)

• 2015: $2.30 (US: $2.19)

We’re well below the post-pandemic peaks and trending closer to late-2010s levels — without quite touching the rock-bottom prices of 2020.

What to watch next

• Refinery setbacks in the Great Lakes and California: could pinch regional supply and nudge prices higher.

• OPEC+ path into Q1: December output boost now; pause Jan–Mar suggests a holding pattern unless demand surprises.

• Diesel drift: higher diesel costs can ripple into goods pricing — keep an eye on freight indices and farm inputs.

• Local spreads: with a $1.11 statewide gap between the cheapest and priciest stations, shopping around still pays.

For now, $2.68 average keeps Laramie County near the front of Wyoming’s affordability pack — second only to Natrona’s $2.56. If refinery issues resolve and crude stays tame, we could see a bit more easing. If not, enjoy the discount while it lasts — and don’t sleep on those $2.61–$2.63 station deals around Cheyenne.