# Philly gas hits $4.50 a gallon

> Middle East fighting has pushed Philadelphia pump prices into record September territory, with no relief in sight before November.
- Title: Philly gas hits $4.50 a gallon · PhillyVoice | Shortify
- Summary: Middle East fighting has pushed Philadelphia pump prices into record September territory, with no relief in sight before November. Philly drivers are paying…
- Keywords: gas prices, philadelphia, oil, middle east, transportation, news, local, Philly, gas, hits, gallon, PhillyVoice
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/gas-prices-philadelphia-pennsylvania-oil-middle-east-war
- Published: 2026-09-10T21:56:54.588+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: gas prices, philadelphia, oil, middle east, transportation, news, local
## Philly crosses $4.50
The average gallon of regular gas in Philadelphia hit $4.50 on Thursday, up from $4.33 a week earlier and $4.11 a month ago.
## No post-Labor Day dip
Prices usually ease once summer travel ends. This year they kept climbing right through the calendar shift.

> continuing an upward trend despite a typical dip after Labor Day
## Statewide and suburbs too
Pennsylvania's average reached $4.45, up from $4.29 a week ago. The collar counties all sat between $4.47 and $4.49.
## A dollar more than last year
Last September the average was $3.37 in Pennsylvania and $3.33 in Philly. The national average has jumped from $3.19 to $4.27 in twelve months.
## Crude broke $100
Oil crossed $100 per barrel this week, dragging pump prices into record territory for the month of September.
## Two chokepoints, one squeeze
Pressure started at the Strait of Hormuz and has spread to the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, closing off the alternative export route.
## Houthis take Mocha
Iran-backed Houthi rebels reached the strategic Red Sea port of Mocha and hit oil and civilian sites in Saudi Arabia, adding more upward pressure.
## A midterm problem
Trump sits at 32% approval in a Focaldata/Financial Times poll and says the war will not end before November's elections.

> I think (the) war is going to end immediately after the election because they can't hold out any longer.
## West Coast pays far more
California averages $5.90 a gallon and Washington $5.54, with Nevada and Oregon both above $5. New Jersey sits at $4.36.
## Highest since 2022
These are the steepest U.S. gas prices since the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war, when the national average peaked at $5.02 in June 2022.
## Key takeaway

Philly drivers are paying about $1.17 more per gallon than a year ago, and the pressure is coming from two shipping chokepoints thousands of miles away.