Check out the map below, it shows estimated monthly fuel costs as a percentage of household income:

Source: Oil price Information Service/Wright Express, USA TODAY

For the most part a map is a map is a map. But the reason that this one came to the forefront of the pile on my desk was simple — I had just traveled to a “dark blue” area.

Knott County Kentucky is a beautiful place. It’s located in the Appalachian Mountains just far enough off the beaten path to enjoy some of life’s simpler times (mountain vistas, friendly people, etc).

But on my recent trip there I noticed something odd – many of the local gas stations simply weren’t selling gas. Along with you, I’ve been watching oil and gas prices rise so I was curious when I heard that gas stations simply turned off their pumps.

So why did the stations shut down?

The answer was simple, there wasn’t enough demand once the price of gas got too high. As the map shows above, some Americans are spending more than 10% of their income on gas — which has apparently slowed demand. So instead of paying for the truckloads of pricey gas to sit in their underground storage tanks, gas station owners chose to shut off the pumps.

I mean frankly, it’s a little shocking. What if your local station just decided to close down? What if you had no reliable access to gas? And what if you had to drive an extra 10-15 miles out of the way to fill up?

Many Americans are starting to have those frustrations.

And the problem is more widespread than just my trip. Rural America is getting hit hard with the rising price of gas. And in the dark blue areas above, people simply can’t afford to buy gas, so they don’t.

Check out some more of the story here.

Matt Insley
Energy and Oil