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See the State With the Cheapest Gas in the U.S.

1 minute read

At first look, the collapse in oil prices over the past year, from $107 per barrel in June to below $50 a barrel today, seems like the proverbial free lunch for American consumers. The decline in prices is the equivalent of a $125 billion tax cut. And it’s effectively a progressive one, since the biggest beneficiaries will be working- and middle-class people who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on gas for their cars and heating fuel for their homes. American households with oil heat could save $767 each this winter. That cash can now be spent on a new car—or a washing machine, an electronic gadget, clothes or a few dinners out.

That should boost spending, and …

Read the full story, which appears in the Feb. 2, 2015 issue of TIME, here.

A gallon of gas went for $1.58 at this gas station on Jan. 15, 2015 in Nevada, Mo. Barrett Emke for TIME
A pump at the Pilot Travel Center on East Austin Road in Nevada, Missouri. January 10, 2015.
A pump at the Pilot Travel Center on East Austin Road in Nevada, Mo. on Jan. 10, 2015.Barrett Emke for TIME
Murphy USA gas station in Nevada, MO. January 10, 2015.
Murphy USA gas station in Nevada, Mo., Jan. 10, 2015.Barrett Emke for TIME
Arnone's Car Care Center & Phillips 66 in Kansas City, MO. January 16, 2015.
Arnone's Car Care Center & Phillips 66 in Kansas City, Mo. on Jan. 16, 2015.Barrett Emke for TIME
Pilot Travel Center on East Austin Road in Nevada, Missouri. January 15, 2015.
Pilot Travel Center on East Austin Road in Nevada, Mo. on Jan. 15, 2015.Barrett Emke for TIME

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