TEXARKANA - This city is among the top five least expensive cities to fill up your gas tank, according to a report by the Center of Regional Economic Competitiveness.
So if you gas up your vehicle here, you're likely getting a pretty good deal, comparatively speaking.
According to Jacob Stenstrom, research assistant with CREC, the process that determines this information is conducted with volunteers in various cities. In this survey, 273 cities were involved in gathering consumer prices for a range of goods, including gasoline.
"We compile all the information into our data base and produce our indexes," Stenstrom said. "Texarkana has an average price of $1.697 per gallon, the 4th cheapest in the U.S."
"I think this is exciting news," said Mike Malone, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce-Texarkana. "Information like this helps attract more business and residents to our area."
The Chamber of Commerce often helps organizations in the gathering of such data, including this survey.
This information dovetails into a recent article published in Kiplinger's, which rated Texarkana as one of the top 25 most inexpensive cities in which to live.
According to Kiplinger's Cost of Living Index released earlier this month, which measure such variables as the cost of housing, groceries, utilities, transportation and health care, along with assorted other goods and services, such as movie tickets and salon care, the twin cities comes in at No. 17 most inexpensive.
Research numbers show that both cities jointly share a cost of living percentage that ranks 13.4% below the national average for an overall area population of 151,675 residents.
Figures also show that both Texarkanas' median household income measures at $45,212, while the median home value comes in at $110,900. Meanwhile, local unemployment presently stands at 6.6%.
The national average unemployment stands at about 7.9%.
"Coming through COVID, we've dealt with challenges," Malone said. "But our businesses and residents have borne up under it. They take care of each other. Our town offers much in business variety and diversity. We are also a place through which major travel arteries pass, and visitors get to see what we offer."
Malone says that how Texarkana held up under the worst of COVID speaks of the character of its people.
"It is not expensive to live here and the people take care of each other," he said. "Texarkana is a good place to live, with good people."
Fuel prices have generally remained low in recent years. The average U.S. household spent about 2.4% of its budget on gas in 2017 - or just under $2,000 - according to the US. Energy Information Administration. By comparison, in 2013, the average household spent about 4% of its budget on gasoline - the highest percentage in nearly three decades - the EIA reported that year.
So while this expense represents only a small part of an average family's budget, considering the stresses the pandemic has placed on most households, it's nice to catch a break at the pump.