Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Salt Lake City, Utah

Today, July 16, 2009, Salt Lake City gas prices are flashing $2.558 for regular grade gasoline. This figure remains in line with the U.S. Department of Energy national $2.528 mark and requisite $2.564 statistic for the Rocky Mountain region.

Crude oil costs and taxes combine to account for 70% of the price of gasoline. Hence, interstate and regional price variance arrives part and parcel with access to critical fossil fuel resources and refining infrastructure, alongside gas tax policy at the municipal level.

Interior West consumers do benefit from sparsely populated geographic positioning within one of the world's more prolific zones for energy and minerals. Supply is more than enough to meet demand in the Rockies, particularly as enormous shale oil reserves enter the pipeline.

Rocky Mountain prices fall between the meager gasoline costs of the South and the Gulf and the exorbitant rates of the Northeast, West Coast, and Chicago.

Per Utah, the Salt Lake City State House legislates a 24.5-cent per gallon gasoline tax upon retail fuel sold within The Beehive State. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Utah's total 42.9-cent tax bill (includes 18.4-cpg Federal excise tax) falls one shade below the national 47-cent per gallon average.

I have long discovered that local gas price volatility is largely set by two factors. I would describe these critical components as access to the "wealth effect" and "one-way out" highway infrastructure.

The wealth effect concerns the elevation of pricing in relation to doing business within well - heeled residential and commercial enclaves. First, expensive real estate costs are passed onto the consumer at the register. Secondly, the wealthy are more likely to accept the price hikes that are relatively minuscule per their respective bottom lines.

One-Way out highway infrastructure deals with the tendency for gas prices to spike at all critical highway bottlenecks that serve a particular area.

In terms of Salt Lake City, the one-way out algorithm is largely a moot point. Although I-15 is the primary north-south route through the Wasatch Front, the roadway is paralleled by numerous divided roads, which ease the burden and compete for traffic. Utahans must compare I-15 to San Francisco's I-80 / Bay Bridge, where all through commuters are forced onto one span to cross over into Oakland.

Salt Lake City gas prices are predominately set by the wealth effect, which translates into transacting activity within range of the Wasatch foothills per Utah.

This guide tackles the cheap gas proposal from both ends of the spectrum. We will begin by exposing the most expensive areas and related service stations to purchase fuel, prior to presenting the viable alternatives for smart consumers to save money on gasoline at Salt Lake.

Where NOT to Buy Gas in Salt Lake City

Do not buy gas in Foothill, Salt Lake City.

Specifically, gas prices spike at the eponymous Utah 186 / Foothill Drive, which is the main thoroughfare into and out of Salt Lake City's most exclusive real estate. Gated communities, sweeping vistas, and palatial estates of the Mormon elite characterize Salt Lake's Foothill subdivisions.

Chevron, Phillips 66, and Top Stop are all hawking expensive $2.69 87-octane gasoline at the moment between I-80 and 13^th S. Street along Foothill Drive.

Although the wealthy may feign indifference to the high prices, low to middle income commuters into the area will be desperate for relief.

Prices plunge at 2300 East heading south across I-80.

The intersection of Utah 195 / 2300 East and Utah 171 / 3300 South features one cluster of off-brand 7/11, Tesoro, and Holiday filling stations peddling regular unleaded for $2.57.

Veterans of Salt Lake City will recognize I-80 and I-15 as the distinct barriers of all things economic at the Wasatch Front.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Salt Lake City

Gas prices plunge west of I-15 and south of I-80 Wasatch branch.

In addition to the aforementioned Foothill example, we shall present the I-15 / 80 interchange at South Salt Lake City. Chevron and 7/11 both flash $2.59 at 2100 South leading up to 15 from the east, while Flying J supplies $2.49 fare immediately west of I-15 of the 2100 S. Expressway.

Drive to the airport for affordable fuel.

Redwood Road at Salt Lake International Airport marks the most convenient zone for Wasatch Front motorists to buy cheap gas. I-15, 80, and 215 bound the area, with important exits at Redwood and 700 / 600 North.

Prices break the $2.50 floor at Redwood, and the street is dominated by cheap gasoline. Tesoro, Pilot, Maverik, Chevron, and Exxon all compete within the shadows of Salt Lake City International Airport to undersell the competition.

Utahans will also note that cheap gas is for sale in West Jordan beyond the Salt Lake City Municipal Airport. Phillips 66, Tesoro, Holiday, and Texaco front 7800 South in West Jordan at 2700 and 3200 West to hawk low priced $2.43 gasoline.

Happy Trails.

Where to Buy Cheap Gas in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sources:

Salt Lake City Tourism, http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/

The State of Utah, http://www.utah.gov/index.html

Salt Lake City Gas Prices, http://www.saltlakegasprices.com/