SAN FRANCISCO—The average price for a gallon of unleaded gas in the Bay Area has leaped to more than four dollars, AAA of Northern California announced on Tuesday.

The statewide average price has reached a record high of $3.94 while the average price for a gallon in the Bay Area is $4.02, a 16-cent jump from the previous month, AAA reported.

"These prices are exactly where the Energy Department forecasted they would be, for June," said AAA spokesperson Michael Geeser in a prepared statement. "The fact that we are already paying more than anticipated, along with the realization that we're paying about 50 cents more for gas than we were a year ago at this time signals a new era for consumers statewide."

According to the Automobile Association, the cheapest gas in the Bay Area is in Pleasanton and San Rafael, where the average price for a gallon is $3.90.

Cities that top the list include San Mateo, where gas is $4.05 and San Francisco, where gas prices rose 14 cents from last month to $4.02.

The highest average for a gallon in the state was in Tahoe City and Yreka, where gas reached $4.10.

However, no mention of the fact that California requires more extensive treatments to be put in their gas for ecological reasons to be imported into the state.

Yeah, we WISH these were still gas prices! Photo courtesy of kohm.org.