Gas Prices: Highest and Lowest in Sherman Oaks

The good news is: California is leading the nation when it comes to the decline in gas prices, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of gas stations across the country.

Since California's gas prices were among the nation's highest, there was room for a bigger decline when prices started falling last week.

Still, in Sherman Oaks, prices vary greatly, depending on where you fill up. Half a mile along Van Nuys Boulevard separates the highest and lowest priced stations in town.

The Shell station on the corner of Van Nuys and Moorpark Street is charging 40 to 50 cents a gallon less than the 76 station at Van Nuys and Riverside Drive.

That amounts to a saving of nearly $10 on a 20-gallon fill-up, if you shop at the Shell station.

Bill Goldman, who was filling up his car at the Shell station, told me he was saving even 10 percent more by using his Ralphs card.

"That way I get the most gas for the least amount of money," he said.

Why would anyone pay 40 to 50 cents more per gallon? Julio Valdez, who works at the high-priced 76 station at Ventura Boulevard and Sherman Oaks Avenue, told me, "Most people pull in and start gassing up without even looking at the price."

Still, if you look at the accompanying photos, you can see the Shell station—with the low prices—is loaded with customers, while the high-priced 76 station is virtually empty.

Although gas prices have come down in recent weeks, they are still about 30 percent higher than a year ago.

The average American household will spend nearly $3,100 on gasoline in 2011, up from $2,000 in 2009, according to the Consumer Federation of America.