Cheapest Gas Retailers Across The Nation

In the latest survey of lowest priced gasoline retailers, and for the second year in a row, Costco was the undisputed leader in value pricing at the gas pump. The average Costco on any given day in 2013 was priced more than 14 cents gallon lower than competitors. 

That 2013 discount was nearly 10 percent more aggressive than the 12.84 cents per gallon Costco delivered in savings versus competitors in 2012.

According to GasBuddy, a leading gasoline pricing app, Western multistate marketer ARCO came in second, with an average daily station discount versus competitors of 13.5 cents gallon, some 8.5 percent more aggressive than the price differential in 2012. 

ARCO was the only traditional gasoline retailer to make it to GasBuddy’s Top 25 list this year. 

Each year, GasBuddy combs through nearly 35 million individual gasoline prices and compares each brand’s pump offering (by zip code) to the average price of local competitors. It then tabulates the results, rating each brand by the average discount it delivered versus the average pump prices in its competitive area.

Seven chains that made the Top 25 ranking were primarily supermarkets or supercenters, including Fred Meyer which yielded a discount of more than 10cts gal. Other grocers in the group included Smiths which typically sold at 6.2 cents gal under competitors, followed by Safeway, Stop & Shop, Kroger, H-E-B, and Frys, all of which had average discounts in 2013 of more than 4 cents gal.

The other two Big Box clubs, Sam’s and BJ’s, were ranked 5th and 6th in the GasBuddy tally, with respective discounts that were 10.1 cents gal and 9.3 cents gal below local rivals. 

Northern California based Quick Stop was the most aggressive traditional convenience store, taking the bronze number three slot among marketers that had the 50 sites necessary to qualify for the ranking. Quick Stop priced its stations some 12.5 cents gal below competitors.

Other notable chains making this year’s Top 25 list were USA Petroleum, Maverik, Murphy USA, Delta, Jet-Pep, Raceway, Murphy Express, Kwik Shop, RaceTrac, E-Z Mart, Wawa and the Flying J and Pilot truckstop chains owned by Pilot Flying J.