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Safe to say, the secret’s out about the Arco on Southeast Belmont Street at César E. Chávez Boulevard having the cheapest fuel in town.
On the beautiful almost-spring morning of March 16, every pump was occupied and lines of up to three cars waited their turns. Gas at Arco that day cost $3.89 a gallon if customers paid with cash or a debit card inside the store. Less than a mile south on César E. Chávez, the 76 station on Division Street advertised gas at $4.99 cash a gallon. A quarter of a mile north, the Shell station on Stark Street was asking $4.45.
Four people interviewed had made a special trip to this Arco to take advantage of the relative savings. As it had on March 16, the GasBuddy app regularly lists the 3840 SE Belmont St. Arco as the most affordable fuel in Portland; Reddit threads also back it up. (“Yes, but then you have to drive in their lot, which feels like actual hell,” snipes one commenter about the crowded corner property.)
Peggy Stimpfl lives in Vancouver, Wash., but works on Belmont, so the Arco is her go-to gas station. The in-home caregiver fills up about once a week.
“I drive by here all the time, so I know,” Stimpfl said. “I come here all the time. That’s really high for them, too. The last time I got gas here, it was $3.45.”
It’s really high because crude oil prices skyrocketed following the bombing of Iran by the U.S. and Israel that started at the beginning of March. Oregon and Washington have seen some of the smaller increases in the country, according to AAA Oregon/Idaho—but we are still way over the national average (which is typical for us; see sidebar). As of March 10, the national average was $3.54 for regular unleaded, but Oregon’s was $4.26. That’s its highest price since September 2025, but not nearly as spendy as June 2022 when Oregon leapt to $5.55 in the months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“When crude oil prices shoot up, pump prices follow suit because crude oil is the basic ingredient in gasoline and diesel. It’s impossible to predict how high prices might go, but expect elevated oil and gas prices as long as the conflict in Iran continues and tankers are stalled in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho, in a statement.
Skyrocketing gas prices add insult to injury for Oregonians who are already struggling with the high cost of housing, utilities, groceries and health care. Stimpfl came to the Arco with the gentleman she cares for—cooking, cleaning, and such—and said “neither one of us are doing OK.” He is on Social Security and struggling, she said. Stimpfl just moved out of her Vancouver apartment to a cheaper one because she was on the verge of eviction.
“I’m just trying to survive,” she said. “I couldn’t afford living on my own. It’s a two-income world right now.”
(They are rich in other ways. Stimpfl says she loves her caregiving job because it’s so rewarding; her companion says “she’s a wonderful lady” and does a “perfect” job taking care of him. He’s on supplemental oxygen.)
Next in line at the pump was the owner of a white Cadillac Escalade, who spent her lunch break driving to this specific Arco (cost to fill the 24-gallon tank: $93.36).
And then, young mother Gracie Packard, who pulled up in her Subaru with her 2-year-old daughter in her car seat in the back. Packard’s GasBuddy app said the Belmont Arco is the cheapest fuel in Portland this morning, as it does about 90% of the time, she said. Her family of three lives in the Lloyd District. She works as a full-time administrative assistant.
“It’s pinching pennies for sure,” Packard said of the cost of living. “We’re able to pay our bills and stuff, but that’s about it. We’re kind of in that spot where if something goes wrong or prices get too high, then it will be an issue.”
The pinching pennies looks like shopping only at WinCo and Costco, following sales, eating at home rather than in restaurants, and doing mostly free, outdoor activities. Before getting gas, Packard and her daughter had just played at nearby Laurelhurst Park.
In the Belmont Arco store, the sales associate was efficiently but grimly moving through the never-ending line of customers (truly; it’s a 24-hour station) coming inside to pay, to take advantage of the 46-cent discount off the credit price. He declined an interview, as did the manager.
“It’s a strong no,” she said. “We’re busy enough.”
