It doesn’t happen often — but Maricopa’s gas prices have dipped below the national average. Call it a Christmas miracle, perhaps?

Gas prices this afternoon averaged $3.02 per gallon around the country, while Arizona was three cents pricier, according to AAA. But in Maricopa, a gallon at QuikTrip or Circle K could run you just $2.99, lower than the metro average any given day since the pandemic.

Even if these are the lowest gas prices we’ve seen in ages, it’s still pricier than elsewhere in Pinal County, which averaged $2.87 per gallon today. In Casa Grande at 3 p.m., one station was charging an eye-popping $2.24.

Anyone who drives through our sister city to the southeast knows gas is invariably cheaper — Casa Grande gas was an entire dollar less than Maricopa gas one day earlier this month — but trying to find the “why” for the extreme gas price differential between bordering cities isn’t easy.

“Prices generally vary due to differences in local demand from area to area, transportation costs and if stations include extra additives in their gas,” he said. “If there’s a price difference that large there could be some regional issue, but I haven’t heard of anything recently.”

GasBuddy Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan conceded there’s “no quick 10-word answer,” especially with Arizona’s own gas specifications.

He mentioned the Cleaner Burning Gasoline blend, a special formulation required to be sold in much of the Phoenix metro.

“That type of gasoline can vary in cost significantly since it is used to reduce air pollution,” De Haan said. “There can sometimes be a 30- to 50-cent difference between this clean blend gasoline and what’s considered conventional gasoline.”

Senate Republicans earlier this year sponsored and passed a bill to lower gas prices by allowing more blends to be sold in the state. While the bill passed in House committees, it died before it reached the governor’s desk.

Regardless, it’s unlikely to have affected Maricopa’s gas prices much. The city sits miles beyond the boundaries where the blend is required year-round.

Another suspect for the price difference: California and Texas suppliers.

California refineries supply the western portion of the state, while Texas and New Mexico send gas to the “eastern third of the state,” according to De Haan. Maricopa sits somewhere between these two areas.

InMaricopa has contacted Circle K and QuikTrip with questions about their suppliers.

The final culprit is the area’s growing population. Phoenix suburbs frequently top lists of fastest growing cities in the country and Maricopa is no exception.

However, that comes with the downside of keeping the supply up.

“The population is skyrocketing, so there are challenges in obtaining enough of this clean blend gasoline. There are pipeline limitations that have come into play in recent years because of this population boom,” De Haan said.

None of those answers were particularly satisfying. Probably because even the experts can’t put their finger on the reasons behind the phenomenon — but they’re still trying. In the meantime, De Haan suggested Maricopa motorists use apps like GasBuddy, Google Maps or Waze to spot lower gas prices and “patronize those stations” more frequently.