Hear from a Northeast Ohio resident about current gas prices in Akron
Northeast Ohio residents talk about what they’re doing about gas prices ahead of Memorial Day weekend in Akron, May 19, 2026.
With a three-day weekend and Memorial Day coming up, Americans will be paying more for gas than they’ve paid in four years, but record numbers are still planning domestic travel over the holidays.
About 45 million Americans are expected to travel at least 80 miles from home from May 21 to May 25, a slight increase from last year, according to AAA’s domestic travel forecast. Of those, 39.1 million plan to travel by car and 3.7 million plan to travel by plane, despite rising prices for gasoline and jet fuel. Most Americans plan to spend this weekend close to home, according to Numerator’s 2026 Q2 Holiday Preview Survey.
But even those celebrating at home may end up spending more as the cost of cooking increases due to higher prices for beef, tomatoes and drinks.
“Whether it’s a road trip, a plane trip, a vacation, a few nights in a hotel, or a backyard barbecue, it’s going to be virtually impossible to avoid price increases on summer fun,” said Lindsey Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative. “If you sit indoors and watch TV, your air conditioning bill will go up.”
How much will it cost travelers this Memorial Day weekend?
One of the most notable cost increases travelers will face this weekend is at gas pumps. Gasoline prices rose 5.4% in April after hitting a record 21.2% in March after the start of the Iran war, according to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the year, gas prices rose 28.4%.
The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline as of May 20 was $4.56 a gallon, according to AAA, up from $4.04 a gallon last month and up from $3.18 a gallon this time last year, when travelers were preparing for Memorial Day weekend.
AAA said drivers would pay more at the pump than in 2025, but travelers who booked early could have scored cheaper tickets. Still, airfares rose 2.8% in April and rose 20.7% for the year, BLS estimated, as oil supplies remained tight due to traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Travelers planning to stay in a hotel or vacation rental may also end up paying more, as the cost of lodging in non-home accommodations rose 2.4% in April and 4.6% for the year, according to the BLS.
“When you stay in a hotel, you don’t have to pay extra for utilities,” Owens says. “Hotels are installing more air conditioning in the summer, which will increase energy prices and costs and pass it on to consumers.”
Which grocery staple will be more expensive?
Consumers who cut back on travel to save money will also face increased spending at the grocery store as they prepare for Memorial Day celebrations. Alcoholic beverage prices rose 1.9% in April compared to the same month last year, while non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 5.1%.
Backyard barbecue staple burger patties are likely to cost more at consumers’ local grocery stores as the average price of ground beef rose to $6.90 per pound following a 2.7% increase in beef prices in April. This is an increase of approximately 15% per year.
Adding tomatoes to these burgers makes them even more expensive. Prices soared 15.1% in April, up about 40% for the year, as tariffs, weather and war-related increases in shipping costs hit farmers’ profits.
John Groton, head of energy, materials and utilities at Thrivent, said much of the fertilizer farmers used in recent months had been secured at low prices before the war started, but they are now starting to buy fertilizer at higher rates for future crop cycles, which could push food prices higher in the future.
“If we have a bad harvest because of the weather and prices are still high in the fall, then 2027 is a concern,” Groton said.
What are consumers doing to get lower prices?
Most consumers looking to shop smart ahead of the holiday season plan to shop at discount retailers like Walmart, according to Molecular Research, but 45% of those surveyed said they think price increases will impact their shopping.
About half said they would look for promotions, sales, and coupons, and 35% said they would look for brands with lower prices.
Angela Hanks, director of policy programs at the Century Foundation and a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official, said that while shifting to cheaper protein sources and buying seasonal, local produce can reduce costs, there’s not really much that consumers can do.
“Everyone across the country is going to be seriously thinking about whether they can afford to go on that trip, whether they can go see their family, whether they can take a vacation,” Hanks said. “I don’t want to tell people they can’t do it, because they should be able to do it. They’re in this situation through no fault of their own, but I think that’s really the choice that people are facing.”
Contact Rachel Barber rbarber@usatoday.comFollow her on X @rachelbarber_and subscribe to her newsletter Making More of Your Money here.
