Gas Price Statistics (2026)

US gas prices sit well above $4 in October 2026. AAA's national average for regular was about $4.33 a gallon on October 16, 2026, while the EIA's weekly measure read $4.331 on October 12 (see the table below).

That is up about $1.27 a gallon, roughly 41%, from a year earlier. The two national gauges differ slightly because AAA samples stations daily and the EIA surveys about 900 outlets each Monday, but both show the same 2026 upswing.

Step back and the last few years look like a roller coaster. The annual average fell to just $2.17 a gallon in 2020 as the pandemic crushed demand, rebounded to $3.01 in 2021, then spiked to a record $3.95 in 2022 (see the chart and table below).

Prices then cooled for three straight years, to $3.52 in 2023, $3.30 in 2024, and $3.10 in 2025, before turning back up in 2026. The EIA's October outlook forecasts a full-year 2026 average near $3.91 a gallon, second only to 2022, and about $3.56 in 2027.

After bottoming near $2.78 a gallon in January 2026, prices surged in two waves. The EIA weekly average jumped from $3.015 on March 2 to $3.961 by March 23 and peaked at $4.500 on May 11, eased to $3.777 in early July, then climbed again to $4.478 on September 21. September averaged $4.35 a gallon.

The move was energy-led: Brent crude went from about $71 a barrel in February 2026 to $103 in March and $117 in April, and was back at $114 in September (EIA). The EIA points to attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and extreme tightness in diesel markets. Because crude is roughly half the cost of a gallon, an oil spike passes through to drivers within weeks.

Gas prices spike in bursts tied to oil shocks and supply disruptions. The 2008 financial-crisis run pushed the AAA average to a then-record $4.114 in July 2008, and the 2022 surge after Russia's invasion of Ukraine broke every prior record (see the table below).

Between those, the 2020 pandemic sent prices to a monthly low near $1.94 a gallon in April 2020, the cheapest in years. Spikes and crashes both trace back to crude oil, geopolitics, and refining bottlenecks.

The all-time high came on June 14, 2022, when AAA's national daily average hit $5.016 a gallon, the first time it ever crossed $5. All grades combined peaked around $5.02 the same week.

That record was driven by post-pandemic demand, runaway inflation, and the war in Ukraine, which lifted crude toward $120 a barrel. Before 2022, the July 2008 peak of $4.114 had stood as the high-water mark for 14 years.

Where you fill up matters as much as when. On October 16, 2026, California drivers paid about $6.22 a gallon and Hawaii $5.64, while North Carolina was cheapest at $3.67, followed by Georgia ($3.76) and Texas ($3.82) (see the chart and table below).

That is a spread of about $2.55 a gallon between the most and least expensive states, larger than the entire annual price move in a typical year. Four states averaged above $5: California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Washington.

The state gap is mostly taxes, regulation, and geography. California layers the nation's highest gas tax (about 73.6 cents a gallon as of July 2026) on top of a special low-emissions fuel blend and cap-and-trade costs, while Hawaii pays to ship every gallon across the Pacific.

At the other end, states near Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines, like Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, enjoy low transport costs and modest taxes. Distribution and marketing alone make up about 18% of the pump price.

A gallon of gas is mostly oil. In 2025, crude oil accounted for about 51% of the retail price, distribution and marketing 18%, taxes 17%, and refining 14% (see the chart and table below).

Because crude is the largest and most volatile piece, its swings drive most of what drivers feel at the pump. Taxes and distribution costs are relatively steady, so a jump in the retail price almost always traces back to oil.

Every gallon carries a federal tax of 18.4 cents, unchanged since October 1993, plus a state tax that averaged about 33.55 cents a gallon as of January 2026 (see the table below). Combined, taxes are roughly 17% of the retail price.

State rates vary widely: in the Tax Foundation's July 2026 table California tops the list at 73.64 cents, followed by Illinois (70.40), Indiana (63.10), and Washington (60.17), while Alaska charges the least at about 8.95 cents. These gaps explain a large share of the state-to-state price differences.

Gasoline is a meaningful but not dominant slice of the household budget. The average US household spent about $2,411 on gasoline in 2024, roughly $201 a month, or 3.1% of total spending of $78,535 (see the table below).

That share has held near 3% in recent years, well below housing (about a third) and transportation overall. Even so, gas is one of the most visible prices households track, because it is posted in foot-high numbers on every corner.

Gas spending is uneven across households. Those headed by 45-to-54-year-olds spent the most in 2024, about $3,379 a year, or $282 a month, which reflects longer commutes, more vehicles, and family driving.

Lower-income households feel it more in relative terms: the lowest-income fifth spent about 3.4% of its budget on gas versus just 2.3% for the top fifth. Fuel is a regressive cost, taking a bigger bite from those who earn less.

Diesel, the fuel that moves freight, usually runs above regular gasoline, and in 2026 the gap blew out. The EIA weekly on-highway diesel average was $6.179 a gallon on October 12, 2026, after averaging $6.29 in September, versus $3.75 in September 2025. The EIA's October outlook sees diesel averaging about $5.19 in 2026 and $4.49 in 2027.

Diesel prices matter beyond truckers because they feed into the cost of nearly everything shipped by road or rail. When diesel spikes, it shows up later in grocery and goods prices, an indirect tax on consumers.

The EIA expects prices to ease from here. Its October 2026 outlook has regular gasoline averaging about $4.40 a gallon in October, $4.20 in November, and $3.86 in December, then about $3.56 for 2027 as a whole, just under $3.60.

That forecast rests on Brent crude averaging about $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026 (up $14 from the prior month's outlook) and falling to an average of $84 in 2027. Oil markets are hard to predict, so treat any pump-price forecast as a base case, not a promise.

Gas is a price you cannot really control, which is exactly why it belongs in a plan rather than a worry. A $1-a-gallon swing on 12,000 miles a year in a 25-mpg car is about $480, real money, but small next to housing or long-run investment returns.

The durable hedge against energy-price shocks is owning the economy that sells the energy: broad stock ownership, including energy producers, means higher oil prices lift part of your portfolio even as they lift your pump bill. The goal is to make volatile costs matter less to your bottom line.