Historical US gas prices by year, 1992 to 2026
Across the years EIA publishes an annual figure for, the US average regular gasoline price has ranged from $1.030 in 1998 to $3.951 in 2022, in nominal dollars. The all-time nominal weekly peak was $5.016 per gallon on 14 June 2022. EIA's annual series starts in 1992; the weekly survey began in August 1990 but no agency annual average is published for 1990 or 1991, so those years are left out rather than filled in. [EIA · 31 Aug 2026]
Annual averages
| Year | National avg ($/gal) | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1.087 | Mild recession demand |
| 1993 | 1.067 | Federal excise raised to 18.4c (Oct) |
| 1994 | 1.075 | Stable |
| 1995 | 1.111 | Demand growth |
| 1996 | 1.199 | Heating-oil winter spike crossover |
| 1997 | 1.199 | Asia crisis later in the year |
| 1998 | 1.030 | Asian financial crisis demand collapse |
| 1999 | 1.136 | OPEC output cuts |
| 2000 | 1.484 | Surge to $40 oil |
| 2001 | 1.420 | 9/11 demand shock late |
| 2002 | 1.345 | Recovery |
| 2003 | 1.561 | Iraq war |
| 2004 | 1.852 | China demand acceleration |
| 2005 | 2.270 | Hurricane Katrina (Aug) |
| 2006 | 2.572 | Iran tensions, ULSD transition |
| 2007 | 2.796 | Sub-prime, demand peaks |
| 2008 | 3.246 | Mid-year $147 oil peak, then the financial crisis crash |
| 2009 | 2.353 | Post-crisis trough |
| 2010 | 2.782 | Recovery |
| 2011 | 3.521 | Arab Spring, Libya |
| 2012 | 3.618 | Libya disruption, Iran sanctions |
| 2013 | 3.505 | Steady |
| 2014 | 3.358 | Q4 oil price crash |
| 2015 | 2.429 | Saudi market-share war begins |
| 2016 | 2.143 | Saudi-led OPEC market-share war |
| 2017 | 2.415 | Hurricane Harvey (Aug) |
| 2018 | 2.719 | OPEC+ supply cut compliance |
| 2019 | 2.604 | Steady, soft demand late |
| 2020 | 2.168 | COVID demand collapse |
| 2021 | 3.008 | Reopening, Colonial Pipeline ransomware |
| 2022 | 3.951 | Russia-Ukraine invasion, all-time nominal weekly peak $5.016 in June |
| 2023 | 3.519 | Easing, SPR releases |
| 2024 | 3.304 | Steady demand, ample OPEC+ supply |
| 2025 | 3.097 | OPEC+ production additions |
| 2026 (year to date) | 3.761 | Year to date, OPEC+ growth against soft demand Mean of 35 weekly observations through 2026-08-31, not an EIA annual figure. |
Series EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG, EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, annual frequency, US national average, regular grade, all formulations. Public domain. Figures are shown to three decimals exactly as EIA publishes them.
Inflation-adjusted record
Adjusted for CPI, the all-time monthly peak was June 2008 (nominal $4.09, real about $5.95 in 2026 dollars). The June 2022 nominal peak of $5.016 sits second on the inflation-adjusted ranking.