The average Tennessee driver is paying about $60 to fill a 15-gallon tank, up from roughly $40 a year ago, as Nashville metro gas prices remain above $4 a gallon.

Regular unleaded averaged $4.038 per gallon across the Nashville metro area on Tuesday, Sept. 29, according to AAA data reported by Williamson Source. The Nashville metro area includes Spring Hill and Thompson's Station.

Tennessee's statewide average sat at $4.035 per gallon. That figure reflects a four-cent drop from the prior week but remains $1.31 higher than the same time last year and 34 cents above a month ago, AAA reported.

The Nashville metro price had peaked at $4.121 the week before Sept. 29 and has been falling slowly since.

September 2026 is on pace to set a monthly record. The average price so far in September is $4.30 per gallon, well above the previous September high of $3.83 set in 2023, according to AAA.

AAA pointed to lingering volatility in the Strait of Hormuz and high crude oil costs as the main forces pushing prices up. Crude had topped $100 per barrel in mid-September after Middle East tensions intensified, AAA spokeswoman Megan Cooper said in the organization's Sept. 14 report.

"The overall gas price market is still fairly volatile and drivers can likely expect to see fluctuations in gas prices again this week," Cooper said in AAA's Sept. 29 report.

The national average held steady at $4.47 per gallon on Sept. 29. The prior week's $4.48 average was the highest ever recorded for that time of year, according to AAA.

Tennessee still ranks below the national average. Among Tennessee metro areas, Jackson led at $4.16 per gallon, followed by Memphis at $4.10 and Knoxville at $4.07. Chattanooga had the state's cheapest gas at $3.89, followed by Cleveland at $3.91 and Clarksville at $3.94.

On the supply side, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed gasoline demand rose from 8.79 million barrels per day to 8.84 million the week before Sept. 29. Total domestic supply fell from 207.7 million barrels to 206 million, and production dipped from 9.64 million barrels per day to 9.59 million.

The last time Tennessee's average climbed above $4 per gallon before September was early May, when prices peaked at $4.21.