A gallon of regular gas cost $4.48 in September 2026, up 34.2% from a year earlier. In 2000 the average was $1.51, about $2.95 in today's dollars.
Adjust any amount for inflation
Every year since 1976
- Price at the time
- In September 2026 dollars
| Year | Average price | In today's dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.26 | $3.41 |
| 2024 | $3.45 | $3.70 |
| 2023 | $3.66 | $4.05 |
| 2022 | $4.09 | $4.71 |
| 2021 | $3.05 | $3.79 |
| 2020 | $2.17 | $2.83 |
| 2019 | $2.64 | $3.47 |
| 2018 | $2.74 | $3.67 |
| 2017 | $2.41 | $3.31 |
| 2016 | $2.14 | $3.01 |
| 2015 | $2.45 | $3.48 |
| 2014 | $3.37 | $4.79 |
| 2013 | $3.53 | $5.10 |
| 2012 | $3.64 | $5.35 |
| 2011 | $3.53 | $5.28 |
| 2010 | $2.79 | $4.31 |
| 2009 | $2.35 | $3.69 |
| 2008 | $3.27 | $5.11 |
| 2007 | $2.80 | $4.55 |
| 2006 | $2.59 | $4.33 |
| 2005 | $2.30 | $3.96 |
| 2004 | $1.88 | $3.35 |
| 2003 | $1.59 | $2.91 |
| 2002 | $1.36 | $2.54 |
| 2001 | $1.46 | $2.78 |
| 2000 | $1.51 | $2.95 |
| 1999 | $1.17 | $2.36 |
| 1998 | $1.06 | $2.19 |
| 1997 | $1.23 | $2.59 |
| 1996 | $1.23 | $2.64 |
| 1995 | $1.15 | $2.54 |
| 1994 | $1.11 | $2.53 |
| 1993 | $1.11 | $2.58 |
| 1992 | $1.13 | $2.70 |
| 1991 | $1.14 | $2.82 |
| 1990 | $1.16 | $3.00 |
| 1989 | $1.02 | $2.78 |
| 1988 | $0.95 | $2.70 |
| 1987 | $0.95 | $2.81 |
| 1986 | $0.93 | $2.85 |
| 1985 | $1.20 | $3.77 |
| 1984 | $1.21 | $3.93 |
| 1983 | $1.24 | $4.20 |
| 1982 | $1.30 | $4.53 |
| 1981 | $1.38 | $5.11 |
| 1980 | $1.25 | $5.09 |
| 1979 | $0.90 | $4.19 |
| 1978 | $0.67 | $3.46 |
| 1977 | $0.66 | $3.65 |
| 1976 | $0.61 | $3.64 |
Yearly averages of monthly U.S. city average prices; a year counts once BLS published at least 10 of its months. Today's dollars use the all-items CPI to September 2026.
Against inflation
| Since | Gas prices | All prices |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | up 197% | up 96% |
| 1976 | up 630% | up 492% |
Since 2000, gas prices outpaced inflation; since 1976, gas prices outpaced it.
Biggest yearly jumps
- 2021: up 40.3% from 2020 ($2.17 to $3.05)
- 1980: up 37.9% from 1979 ($0.90 to $1.25)
- 1979: up 34.8% from 1978 ($0.67 to $0.90)
Minutes of work
At the average hourly wage of production and nonsupervisory workers, a gallon of regular gas took 7.3 minutes of work in 1976 ($5.06 an hour) and 8.3 minutes in September 2026 ($32.54 an hour).
What moved gas prices
Gas prices jumped 34.8% in 1979 and 37.9% in 1980 during the 1979 oil crisis, which BLS ties to lower U.S. crude output, Middle East instability and OPEC production cuts; refiners passed crude oil increases through into early 1980. Prices fell 28.0% in 2009, when EIA says crude oil prices dropped 37% after adjusting for inflation, and 27.3% in 2015, when EIA called lower crude prices the main cause. In 2021 they rebounded 40.3% on rising crude prices and gasoline demand. Over the year to September 2026 gas rose 34.2% to $4.48 a gallon after a Middle East conflict that began on February 28, 2026, effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and constrained oil exports.
Reviewed October 17, 2026. Sources:
- BLS: data series APU000074714
- BLS: Beyond the Numbers, "Exploring price increases in 2021 and previous periods of inflation"
- BLS: Monthly Labor Review, "Price changes in 1980: double-digit inflation persists" (April 1981)
- EIA: Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers 2009, Overview
- EIA: Today in Energy, "U.S. gasoline prices in 2015 were lowest since 2009" (January 7, 2016)
- EIA: Today in Energy, "Retail gasoline prices rose across the United States in 2021 as driving increased"
- EIA: Short-Term Energy Outlook, July 2026
- Federal Reserve Board: Monetary Policy Report, July 2026, Part 1
- EIA: Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2026
Sources
- BLS series APU000074714: Regular gasoline (U.S. city average, to September 2026)
- BLS Consumer Price Index, all items (CPI-U)
- BLS average price data and average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers (CEU0500000008)
- How we use these figures: our methodology
General information, not financial advice.