Two weeks after Ohio’s gas tax holiday took effect, drivers in Northeast Ohio are seeing prices climb again, with averages topping $4 a gallon in both Akron and Cleveland, according to GasBuddy figures reported this week.
As reported, the average price reached $4.08 a gallon in Akron and $4.09 in Cleveland. Prices in Akron rose more than 28 cents over the previous week, while Cleveland saw an increase of about 20 cents, the figures showed.
Despite the recent jump, prices remained about 47 cents lower than a month earlier. Drivers were still paying about $1.14 more a gallon than at the same time last year, a reminder that the holiday relief has not erased the broader increase at the pump.
Experts say there is no single explanation for the spike. A combination of supply disruptions, global events and increased demand may be contributing to higher prices, according to the reporting.
Jonathan Ernest, an assistant professor of economics at Case Western Reserve University, said the tax holiday itself could be playing a role. When driving gets cheaper, people tend to drive more, increasing demand for gasoline, he explained.
“When we’re making it cheaper to drive around, people have a tendency to drive a little bit more,” Ernest said, noting drivers may take extra trips or carpool less frequently when gas costs less.
For Northeast Ohio commuters, the immediate impact is practical: fuller tanks cost noticeably more than they did a week ago, even with the holiday in place. Whether prices ease will depend on supply and demand in the weeks ahead, not on the tax break alone.
For families in Cleveland, Akron and the surrounding suburbs, the swing matters in the weekly budget as much as in the headline average: a driver filling a 12-gallon tank in Akron pays roughly three dollars and forty cents more than a week earlier at the reported average, before any difference between individual stations. GasBuddy averages are regional snapshots, and prices can vary widely by neighborhood and station.