Peak holiday travel expected despite high gas prices

This Memorial Day weekend, with surging gas prices that are redefining pain at the pump, that is the question for many Americans as a new COVID-19 surge also spreads across the country.

The average gas price in the U.S. on Thursday was $4.60 per gallon. In California, it topped $6. During the holiday weekend, 39.2 million people in the U.S. will travel 50 miles or more from home.  

Those projections are up 8.3% from 2021 and would bring Memorial Day travel volumes close to 2017 levels. The estimates are still below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, a peak year for travel.

About 88% of those 39.2 million travelers are expected to go by car over the long weekend even as gas prices remain high.