The average Dayton driver could spend hundreds more on gas this year compared to 2010.

The average price of gas in the Dayton area Friday was $3.80, according to DaytonGasPrices.com, a website that documents the highest and lowest gas prices at stations across the Miami Valley.

Last year on that date, the average was nearly a dollar cheaper at $2.83.

Given that the average American drives 13,746 miles a year , the average Dayton driver with a car that gets 25 mpg could spend around $2,048 on gas in 2011. Compare that to $1,525 in 2010 — for a difference of $523.

“We’re going to be paying 30 to 40 percent more than we were a year ago for fuel,” said Ray Keyton, president and CEO of AAA Miami Valley . “If a year ago you were spending $100 per month, this year you’ll spend $135 per month.”

Friday’s Dayton average of $3.80 was higher than the national average of $3.72. It also was higher than the average last week ($3.61) and last month ($3.39), illustrating a price trend inching toward the $4 mark, which is not far from the all-time high of $4.11 in July 2008.

Patrick DeHaan — the senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, which operates DaytonGasPrices.com — said the price jump has not been steady, and that most of the gain has occurred in the first few months of 2011.

“In Dayton, from January through April 8, 2010, gas prices rose 19.8 cents per gallon,” he said. “In that same window in 2011, prices moved up 71 cents.”

DeHaan said, although the weak dollar and the Mideast situation are contributing to higher prices, the improving economy may have made the biggest impact.

“Last year, we were kind of in a holding pattern; the demand for oil was flat and we weren’t sure where the economy was heading,” he said, adding that investors were less likely to gamble. “This year, we’ve seen a lot of growth in the economy, and seen more speculation come back.”

He said there is now more money flowing into oil, and we are more reliant on imported crude, which set new 30-month highs almost every day this week and surged above $112 per barrel Friday.

“If the economy was in the can, so to speak, the Mideast wouldn’t matter as much,” he said.

It’s possible the rebounding economy is helping locally, however, where discounts are concerned.

Keyton said Dayton-area stations are maintaining sizable price differences for longer periods of time .

“Usually, when one guy (station) goes up (in price), they all go up usually within a 24-hour period,” Keyton said. “But it is now a little different. I am seeing it stay that way for 48 hours or longer. I can’t say why.”

Keyton said the difference is an important one for consumers, especially on days like Friday when one Germantown station had its gas for $3.60 and a Dayton station sold it for $3.87.

“Not everybody has the same price,” he said. “If you shop around a little bit, you could get a better deal. And 15 to 18 cents a gallon difference is nothing to sniff at.”

Keyton said he doesn’t know if gas will exceed $4 this year.

“I have always tried to avoid doing a guess,” Keyton said. “There are so many fickle things going on in the market. But I think we’re likely to see (gas) prices in the upper $3 range for a while.”