COVINGTON, Ga. — A survey shows gas costs less for Newton County motorists coming off the Fourth of July holiday than throughout the state and metro Atlanta and most neighboring counties.

According to a survey by AAA-The Auto Club Group, Newton County’s average price per gallon of regular unleaded gas was $1.957 — more than 2 cents below the metro Atlanta average of $1.98 and 3 cents cheaper than the statewide average of $1.99.

Newton’s average regular unleaded price also was lower than all its neighboring counties except Henry, where it averaged $1.941, and Butts, which at $1.951 almost equaled Newton.

Meanwhile, Georgia gas prices increased slightly at the pump compared to a week ago, according to a news release from AAA-The Auto Club Group.

Today's state average of $1.99 is only 2 cents more than a week ago and 23 cents more than last month. It also is 59 cents lower than this time last year.

It now costs motorists $30.00 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline which is $11.11 less than what motorists paid in April of 2019, when pump prices hit their peak of $2.74 per gallon, the news release stated.

Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA-The Auto Club Group, said, “Modest increase at the pump was a welcome relief for Georgia motorists hitting the road Fourth of July weekend. 

“Pump prices continue to trend lower than what consumers paid a year ago,” she said.

The most expensive Georgia metro markets were Brunswick ($2.10), Hinesville-Fort Stewart ($2.06) and Savannah ($2.05). The least expensive Georgia metro markets were Athens ($1.90), Catoosa-Dade-Walker ($1.92) and Dalton ($1.93), AAA reported.

“Gasoline demand appears to be rebounding, but there is still concern regarding recent uptick in new COVID-19 cases, which could prevent gas prices from continuing to rebound,” the release stated.

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.18, which is 1 cent higher than a week ago on June 29. 

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand took a slight step back to 8.56 million barrels a day from 8.61 million barrels a day last week, the news release stated. 

Alongside decreasing demand, total domestic gasoline supplies grew by 1.2 million barrels to 256.5 million barrels last week.