If you feel like Western Pennsylvanians pay more for gasoline, you’re right.

You can blame geography, experts say.

Within the state — already home to the nation’s ninth-most expensive gasoline and the country’s third-highest gas tax — fuel costs more in the Pittsburgh region than almost anywhere, including the Philadelphia area. It’s mostly because of the relative lack of infrastructure to make and transport gasoline here, experts said.

Eastern Pennsylvania has better access to pipelines and refineries than Western Pennsylvania, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel price tracker GasBuddy.com. Most of the gas in and around Pittsburgh comes from Harrisburg or Ohio, so transportation costs add up by the time it gets here.

As a result, Western Pennsylvanians are more susceptible to supply chain issues.

“Pittsburgh is a squeezed market at the end of two pipelines,” De Haan said. “There’s not as much supply, so it’s less competitive (for pricing) there.”

Prices bear that out.

County-level gas price averages Thursday ranged from $3.09 to $3.69 a gallon, with the lowest averages concentrated in the eastern area of the state and the highest in the west, according to AAA.

“I did not know that,” said Donna Patula of Greensburg while stopped at the GetGo on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington. “It’s ridiculous gas is more expensive here than in Philadelphia. It’s not fair.”

She said she wasn’t aware of the price disparity but knew gas prices are “a lot less expensive in Ohio.”

On average, gasoline cost $3.39 a gallon in Pennsylvania. Nationally, the average Thursday was $3.22 a gallon.

Drivers in Delaware County, home of a major oil refinery, paid an average price of $3.19 a gallon. Another two facilities making gasoline sit right across the border in Delaware, according to a map from the federal Energy Information Administration.

Western Pennsylvania has a comparatively small refinery in Warren County, which sits about 140 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, Warren County still is one of the most expensive gas markets in the state — $3.69 a gallon — because of the lack of nearby pipelines.

“It’s not a large enough refinery that it’s having a substantial impact on those prices,” said Jim Garrity, director of public affairs to AAA East Central.

There are no refineries in the Pittsburgh region.

“Those transportation costs have to go somewhere, and they’re getting added to what we end up spending at the pump,” Garrity said.

Partly as a result, the price for a gallon of gasoline is hovering around $3.60 in the Pittsburgh region. Beaver County has the highest average price at $3.64 a gallon.

Makayla Dreher moved to New Kensington a few months ago from Colorado and noticed immediately gas prices here were more expensive.

When she learned about the price disparity between Western Pennsylvania and other parts of the state, she wasn’t surprised.

“It’s unfortunate, and it doesn’t seem right, though,” she said. “I wish it was cheaper.”

Christina Walters of McIntyre, Indiana County, was filling up her company car Thursday afternoon at a GetGo in Murrysville.

“For this (vehicle), I get gas whenever I need it,” Walters said. “But I have a Dodge Ram 400 truck at home, and I probably put about $100 worth of gas in it every four days.”

Barry Delissio of Export said his fuel consumption has gone down in recent years, but not because of the price of gas.

“I’m retired, so other than the essentials, we don’t go out that often,” Delissio said. “The biggest thing my wife and I do is drive down south to see the grandkids.”

There may be relief on the horizon, but it’s been slow in coming.

Average crude oil prices, as tracked by the New York Stock Exchange, steadily rose between March 10 and April 2, peaking at almost $72 a barrel. Prices then took a nose dive that day, President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he announced sweeping tariffs on most nations and their goods, sparking recession fears.

On Wednesday morning, prices dipped to $55.40 a barrel before rebounding to $61.65 in the afternoon, after Trump announced a 90-day hold on some tariffs. They sagged to $59.45 Thursday afternoon, marking a 17% decrease in oil prices this month.

The price of oil is the largest determinant of gasoline prices, according to experts. The cheaper the oil, the cheaper the gas.

Local drivers, however, are waiting on savings, which typically take a week or two to kick in, according to Garrity. They’re paying, on average, 13 cents more per gallon than they were a month ago but 21 cents less than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

“In addition to falling oil prices, the stock market has dropped sharply, and the risk of a recession has increased, raising the likelihood of reduced global energy and oil demand, which is sending prices lower,” De Haan said. “As a result, motorists can expect gas prices to begin falling nearly coast to coast, with oil now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2021.”

The only thing stopping even steeper price drops, De Haan said, is the switch from winter-blend gas to costlier summer-blend gas.

“I’m expecting 2025 to be relatively cheaper than last year, but it’s not going to be without its volatile moments,” De Haan said, “and we’re in a volatile moment right now.”

Staff writer JoAnne Klimovich Harrop and Patrick Varine contributed to this report.