Cape Girardeau had the highest average price for regular gasoline among the eight Missouri metro areas AAA tracked on Nov. 12.
As of Nov. 12, AAA’s metro averages put regular gasoline in Cape Girardeau at $3.89 a gallon, compared with $3.54 in the Missouri side of the St. Louis metro area, a difference of about 35 cents, according to AAA’s Missouri price data. Cape Girardeau ranked as the most expensive of the eight Missouri metros AAA tracks, while Springfield was the cheapest at $3.34.
The gap has been building for over a week. On Nov. 5, AAA had Cape Girardeau highest in the state at $3.95 while St. Louis averaged $3.69, the Kirksville Daily Express reported. By Nov. 6, Stacker, using AAA data, showed Cape Girardeau at $3.94 against $3.66 in St. Louis.
The pattern is not new. Cape Girardeau also recorded Missouri’s highest metro average during the spring price spike, when AAA put local prices at $3.92 amid crude oil above $100 a barrel, and again in late July at $3.94, per KBSI23.
AAA’s metro averages show the size of the gap. The reason for it remains unclear.
Prices are falling, but remain well above last year
The local premium comes during a statewide and national slide. AAA announced Nov. 12 that the national average for regular gasoline had dropped nearly 20 cents in a week to about $3.91, falling below $4 for the first time since July. AAA credited falling crude oil prices, cheaper winter-blend gasoline and seasonal drops in gasoline demand, and noted that this November is still the most expensive November on record nationally. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $86.53 a barrel on Nov. 11, according to AAA’s fuel report.
Missouri’s statewide average stood at $3.61 on Nov. 12, down about 4% from a week earlier, according to AAA. That is roughly a third higher than a year earlier, when the state average was $2.70. In Cape Girardeau, Stacker’s AAA-based tracking as of Nov. 9 showed prices up $1.23 a gallon, or about 45%, compared with November 2025.