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Reported by us | South Coast

Bristol County gas falls to $3.88 a gallon, the lowest county average in Massachusetts

Plymouth County is second lowest at $3.93. A 15-gallon fill-up at the Seekonk-area price costs about $4.32 less than a month ago and about $15 more than last fall.

By the SC360 Business and Real Estate Desk | Published Nov. 11, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 11, 2026, 7:28 p.m. ET

SOUTH COAST Regular gas in Bristol County fell to an average of $3.88 a gallon on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the lowest of any county in Massachusetts, according to AAA's daily survey.

The county average is down 16 cents from $4.04 on Oct. 29, when South Coast 360 last reported pump prices, and Plymouth County's average of $3.93 was the second lowest in the state, AAA reported. Both sit below the Massachusetts average of $4.04 and the national average of $3.94.

The drop shaves a few dollars off every fill-up heading into the holiday driving season, but drivers in the Seekonk market are still paying about a dollar a gallon more than they did a year ago, AAA's figures show.

What a fill-up costs

Seekonk is the only one of the seven Massachusetts metro areas AAA tracks that lies in Bristol County, and regular averaged $3.88 there on Wednesday. That was down from $4.01 a week earlier and $4.17 a month earlier, while a year ago drivers in the Seekonk market paid $2.88, according to AAA.

At Wednesday's Seekonk-area price, 15 gallons of regular costs about $58.20, which is about $4.32 less than a month ago and about $15 more than the $43.21 the same tank cost at last year's average, by our arithmetic from AAA's figures. Mid-grade averaged $4.56 in the Seekonk market and premium $4.92.

Diesel and heating oil

Diesel has eased as well, averaging $6.05 a gallon in the Seekonk market on Wednesday, down from $6.20 a month earlier, AAA reported. That is still about $2.36 above the $3.69 diesel cost there a year ago, and the statewide diesel average was $6.22.

Heating oil, the main fuel in most homes in Rehoboth, Freetown and Lakeville, averaged $6.18 a gallon in Massachusetts for the week of Nov. 2 in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's survey, down from $6.25 the week before, as South Coast 360 reported Nov. 7.

Why prices are coming down

Nationally, the average for regular fell 12 cents in the week ending Thursday, Nov. 5, to $4.10, as crude oil slipped back into the high $80s and low $90s a barrel, AAA said in its weekly release that day. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $7.97 on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to settle at $88.12 a barrel, according to the release.

AAA said in the same release that pump prices remained the highest they have been at this time of year, and that before 2026 the national average had never gone above $4 a gallon in November. By Wednesday, Nov. 11, the national average for regular had fallen to $3.94, AAA's daily figures show.

The Energy Information Administration's separate weekly survey points the same way for Massachusetts. Its statewide average for regular was $4.01 on Monday, Nov. 9, the lowest in that survey since Aug. 17 and well below the 2026 peak of $4.45 it recorded on May 18.

How the South Coast compares

Drivers who cross into Rhode Island paid $3.94 on average Wednesday, about 6 cents more than the Bristol County average, according to AAA. Hampden County averaged $3.94, a fraction of a cent under the national average, and the islands were the most expensive, at $5.26 a gallon in Dukes County and $5.59 on Nantucket.

AAA updates its state, metro and county averages every day on its fuel prices site. The Energy Information Administration posts new heating oil prices Thursday, Nov. 12, and its next weekly gasoline prices Tuesday, Nov. 17.

South Coast 360 has asked Mark Schieldrop, AAA Northeast's senior spokesperson for Massachusetts, what is bringing South Coast prices down, why Bristol County is the lowest in the state and what drivers can expect at Thanksgiving, and his answers will be added to this story.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every gas and diesel price comes from AAA: its Massachusetts, Rhode Island and national average pages and its Massachusetts county figures, all showing prices as of Nov. 11, plus its national release of Nov. 5. The longer Massachusetts trend and the heating oil price come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly series. AAA's prices are averages for regular unless another grade is named. The fill-up costs and the changes over time are our arithmetic from AAA's figures. We read every record on Nov. 11 and reread the AAA and EIA figures that evening. The Oct. 29 county averages and the heating fuel shares by town come from South Coast 360's earlier stories. Not heard yet: Mark Schieldrop, AAA Northeast's senior spokesperson for Massachusetts, asked Nov. 11 about the outlook; his answer goes into the story as an update.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (9)

  1. Massachusetts average gas pricesAAA Fuel Prices, price as of Nov. 11, 2026. Massachusetts regular $4.0389 (yesterday $4.0658, week ago $4.1572, month ago $4.3235, year ago $3.0094); diesel $6.2181. Seekonk metro: regular $3.8801 (week ago $4.0084, month ago $4.1683, year ago $2.8805), mid-grade $4.5596, premium $4.9227, diesel $6.0533 (month ago $6.2014, year ago $3.6906). Seven metro averages listed. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  2. Massachusetts county retail prices (AAA county map data)AAA Fuel Prices county averages for regular, Nov. 11, 2026: Bristol $3.880, Plymouth $3.926, Hampden $3.937, Hampshire $3.995, Norfolk $4.008, Suffolk $4.277, Dukes $5.261, Nantucket $5.594 (14 counties). Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  3. Rhode Island average gas pricesAAA Fuel Prices, price as of Nov. 11, 2026: regular $3.9444. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  4. National average gas pricesAAA Fuel Prices, price as of Nov. 11, 2026: national regular $3.9429 (year ago $3.0719). Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  5. National Average Falls 12 Cents in One WeekAAA national release, Washington, Nov. 5, 2026: national average $4.1003 (week ago $4.2258); crude in the high $80 to low $90 a barrel range; pump prices the highest ever for this time of year; never above $4 in November before 2026; WTI down $7.97 to $88.12 at the close of Wednesday trading. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  6. Massachusetts Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (weekly)U.S. Energy Information Administration, released Nov. 10, 2026: $4.007 for Nov. 9; $3.950 for Aug. 17, the last week at or below that level; 2026 high $4.448 for May 18; next release Nov. 17, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  7. Massachusetts No. 2 Heating Oil Residential Price (weekly)U.S. Energy Information Administration, released Nov. 4, 2026: $6.176 for Nov. 2 and $6.254 for Oct. 26; next release Nov. 12, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  8. Bristol County gas averages $4.04 a gallon, about $1.20 more than last fallSouth Coast 360, Oct. 29, 2026 (AAA county averages of Oct. 29: Bristol $4.039, Plymouth $4.097). Read Nov. 11, 2026.
  9. Most homes in Rehoboth, Freetown and Lakeville burn heating oil, now $6.18 a gallon in MassachusettsSouth Coast 360, Nov. 7, 2026 (Census heating fuel shares by town). Read Nov. 11, 2026.

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