PLATTSBURGH — After a sigh of relief swept the North Country when gas prices dropped late last year, the costs are creeping back up, and some are worried the less-than-$3-a-gallon prices aren't here to stay.

The average price of regular, unleaded fuel in the area was $2.21 Sunday, according to a Press-Republican survey of 19 surrounding gas stations. This is a 20-cent increase from December 2008, the last time the survey was conducted.

According to motor club AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, New York state's average was $2.17 Sunday, with the national average as low as $2.05.

And although $2.21 may still seem like a relief for those who remember paying a regional average of $3.96 in August 2008, according to an earlier Press-Republican survey, every cent counts for some.

"It influences us quite a bit," said Bernie Fielder of Plattsburgh, whose wife commutes to Crown Point for her teaching job. Fielder said his wife was paying $200 a month this time last year for gas and is now paying about $280.

"You're looking at an $80 difference in a year's time," he said, adding that it really hurts when it gets to the $3 range.

Josh Jerome, also of Plattsburgh, said the cost of fuel impacts him as well.

"I'm definitely not happy that it's going back up," he said. "Especially with the cost of food and produce and the (state) the economy is in."

Jerome said it's hard to keep up because other prices are rising too, such as rent and electric. One way he tries to avoid the cost is to fill up at Native American reservations, but he said he hasn't done so in a while.

And yet, while some try to save where they can, others are still relieved costs aren't mimicking last summer's.

"Honestly, it was like $4.30 a gallon at one point, so I'm not going to complain," Plattsburgh resident John Combs said. "I'll start complaining once it hits like $3 a gallon."

Combs said when you think about it, $2.23, which was the cost of unleaded, regular fuel at the Sandri Sunoco on Margaret Street where he was pumping gas, isn't that bad compared to prices in the past. And although several Plattsburgh residents said they favor places such as Highway Oil and Buck's Discount because of their low prices, Combs is a regular at Sandri Sunoco because it is close to his house.

"I know there are cheaper places, but it's convenient," he said.

Plattsburgh resident Scott Lawliss said he doesn't choose gas stations for their lower prices; he also goes to the places close to his house.

Lawliss said this is because he doesn't find the 3 or 4 cents he's paying at the closer stations to be too much for him.

"My driving is limited, I only go through about 40 bucks a week," he said.

So, while North Country residents may be paying 4 cents more than the average New Yorker, many are just hoping that number stays put.