Millions of travelers are out and about ahead of the Independence Day holiday.

AAA Kansas  predicts that a record 60-million people will be traveling by car over the holidays, which is nearly three-million more than last year.

Overall, the agency projects 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Independence Day holiday travel period including those who will fly. For the first time, AAA looked at the entire July 4th week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday. This year’s projected number of travelers for that time period is a 5% increase compared to 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019.

For this forecast, the Independence Day holiday travel period is defined as the nine-day period from Saturday, June 29 to Sunday, July 7. Historically, the Independence Day holiday period included only one weekend. This is the first year the Independence Day holiday travel period is a longer time frame with two weekends included. 

Gas prices are lower than last year when the national average was $3.53. Pump prices will likely continue going down leading up to Independence Day.  At that point, they will likely level off and remain relatively stable until after Labor Day, similar to last year.  An important caveat is hurricane season – underway now – which could affect gas prices should a storm negatively impact Gulf Coast oil production and refining centers.