California is, as they say, different. There's lots of reasons why gas in California is way above average. Long distance truckers fill up before they cross the border and make a mad dash into a port and return before they need more -- it's worth it.
I paid $3.49 the other day in Berkeley.
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California has historically seen some of the highest, and
most volatile, gasoline prices in the United States. The
reasons for the striking differences in the behavior of
California gasoline prices, as compared to those in other
parts of the United States, are numerous, varied, controversial,
and not well understood. Several factors contribute to the
problem:
. The California refinery system runs near its capacity limits,
which means there is little excess capability in the region
to respond to unexpected shortfalls;
. California is isolated and lies a great distance from other
supply sources (e.g., 10 days travel by tanker from the Gulf
Coast), which prevents a quick resolution to any supply/demand
imbalances;
. The region uses a unique gasoline that is difficult and
expensive to make, and as a result, the number of other
suppliers who can provide product to the State are limited.
[ ... ]
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/caprice/caprice.pdf