I may be older than you, but I'm not Methuselah. So don't flip out when I tell you that I remember paying 69 cents a gallon for gasoline one time in Bowling Green KY.

Gas Prices in Kentucky

It was actually at the end of my junior year at Western Kentucky University in May of 1987. I hadn't been a driver for very long, but that was the lowest price I'd ever paid for fuel. Needless to say, I've never seen it that low since. And you can see that I actually paid HIGHER than Kentucky's state average at the time.

U.S. Energy Information Administration
U.S. Energy Information Administration
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And back then, I wasn't asking why. I was shouting from the figurative rooftops. College kids don't have any money, so 69-cent gas was a major blessing. Today, however, I do ask why at the risk of sounding like I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth. Of course, I'm happy to see prices lower than I've seen them in a very long time. But I'm human and I'm curious.

Why Gas Prices Can Vary Wildly from One Location to the Next

I found this explanation as to why gas prices vary from one location to the next. And while I think I understand, I also wasn't the best economics student anyone ever met.

That said, I saw $2.59 and $2.63 today, and, yes, they could bounce right back up tomorrow; I don't think any commodity's price is more fluid than gasoline's.

The Invaluable Website That Helps You Find Cheap Gas

And I will drive a little further to get lower gas; it doesn't matter to me. I seriously doubt I'd use enough gas for the price difference to matter in a city that only fills just over 22 square miles. And do you know how I scope out the lowest prices? Surely you must. Everyone should have gasbuddy.com at the ready.

When you get to the site, click the drop-down menu next to "Find Gas." Then click "Search by City." You won't find Owensboro immediately, so click "See All" and you'll have all the states in front of you. Find Kentucky, find Owensboro, and then find your cheap gas.

If you want to add a price you don't see on the list, you'll need to create an account so you can do that. But right now, if you click on "Kentucky," you'll see that Owensboro has some of the lowest prices in the state.

The Average Price of Gas in Owensboro and Kentucky

A couple of weeks ago, a report from FOX56-Lexington also showed Owensboro has having the lowest gas price average in the Commonwealth.

And all those numbers are lower now. Gasprices.aaa.com show the current national average at $3.40 and the Kentucky average at $3.04, down from $3.15 a month ago and $3.22 a year ago. These are all prices for Regular Unleaded. Owensboro's average right now is $2.87, down 22 cents from last month.

I'll take it.

And maybe I'll head back out to the pump and fill up my trunk for future purposes.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

LOOK: Here are 25 ways you could start saving money today

These money-saving tips—from finding discounts to simple changes to your daily habits—can come in handy whether you have a specific savings goal, want to stash away cash for retirement, or just want to pinch pennies. It’s never too late to be more financially savvy. Read on to learn more about how you can start saving now. [From: 25 ways you could be saving money today]

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