NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell in the last three weeks in sync with a drop in crude oil prices, according to the Lundberg survey released on Sunday.

Gasoline prices have been decreasing steadily since early September. They fell 14.57 cents per gallon over the past three weeks, bringing the average cost to about $3.22 on Nov 8.

That was 32.83 cents lower than a year earlier, based on a survey of some 2,500 retail stations in the 48 contiguous states.

"Crude oil is the essential cause of this lower price," survey editor Trilby Lundberg said.

San Francisco had the most expensive self-serve, regular gasoline in the survey period at $3.67 a gallon. Drivers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, paid $2.82, the least in the country.

(Reporting By Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)