Nearly 71 million Americans expected to travel over July 4 holiday

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – With the July 4 holiday less than two weeks away, millions of Americans are making plans to hit the road to celebrate Independence Day.

AAA projects 70.9 million travelers nationwide will head 50 miles or more from home over the Independence Day holiday travel period, which runs from Saturday, June 29, to Sunday, July 7.

For the first time, AAA looked at the entire July 4 week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday.

This year’s projected number of travelers for that time frame represents a 5% increase compared to 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019.

“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest ever with an additional 5.7 million people traveling compared to 2019.”

AAA is projecting a record 60.6 million people will drive to their destinations during Independence Day week, up 2.8 million travelers over this past year.

This year’s number also exceeds the 2019 Independence Day holiday when 55.3 million people traveled by car.

Gas prices are lower than a year ago, when the national average was $3.53 a gallon.

Pump prices are expected to keep going down leading up to July 4. At that point, AAA says, gas prices are expected to remain fairly stable until after Labor Day.

One variable that could affect gas prices is hurricane season — which is currently underway and which could affect oil production and refining centers.

Air travel also is expected to be up considerably over a year ago, with some 5.74 million people projected to fly to their destinations this Independence Day, a 7% incease over last year and a 12% increase over 2019, the last July 4 holiday before the COVID pandemic.

AAA says the average price for a domestic round-trip ticket this year is $800, with airports expected to be “packed” throughout the week leading up to Independence Day.

In other modes of travel, more than 4.6 million people are expected to travel by buses, cruises and trains — an increase of 9% over 2023 but still shy of the 4.79 million in 2019.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of unleaded fuel on Friday was $3.45, the same as a week ago but down 14 cents from $3.59 a month ago and down 13 cents from $3.58 a year ago.

According to GasBuddy.com, unleaded fuel on Friday in Topeka ranged from $2.79 to $2.99 a gallon.

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