AAA expects 43.4 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a decrease of 1.5% from the 44 million who traveled last year.

"There are several factors contributing to a few more folks choosing to stay home this year," said AAA's chief operating officer, Marshall Doney. "Consumers remain nervous about the economy and the sluggish pace of improvement. Several key economic factors including household income and unemployment have shown some progress, but not enough to prevent a drop in holiday travel volume. The government shutdown also had an impact on all Americans, with furloughed employees' finances being directly affected."

The good news, he said, is that motorists will find gas prices at the lowest holiday level since 2010. AAA expects the price to remain under $3 a gallon in many states.

Earlier this week, the Kirkland, Wash.-based congestion tracking firm INRIX projected that lower gas prices would help fuel a 3% increase in holiday travel.