Historical Gas Prices By Year: What Affects Them 1978-2024

what is the highest gas price in history

Heavy or thick oil has a massive amount of pollutants. In 2014, the gas price was at its peak at a rate of $3.62 per gallon. The prices fell to $2.43 per gallon in 2015 and $2.14 in 2016. Compared to the previous years, in 2019, gas stations charged $2.6 USD per gallon. However, in 2020,  the price was 2.17, which means the price went down by a total of 17%.

The cost for diesel is nearing the record of $4.84, also set in July 2008. The price for a gallon of diesel is $4.75, more than double what it was in October 2020. After rising dramatically following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the price of gas reached a record, topping a high that had stood for nearly 14 years. So while today’s price per gallon is not a record, it’s definitely on the high end, historically.

Calculating Gas Adjust Prices for Inflation

But gas prices have seen an early 2024 rebound, sparked by higher oil costs. As of Tuesday morning, the average national price for a gallon of regular gasoline touched $4.17, according to AAA, the highest price ever, not accounting for inflation. That was up from $4.07 on Monday and $3.61 a week earlier. An eGallon compares the amount of energy it takes to fuel a car with electricity with the amount of energy to fuel a car with gasoline. According to the Department of Energy, an eGallon costs about $1.00 to drive an electric vehicle, the same distance as a gallon of gasoline costs in a conventional car. Sales taxes and taxes applied by municipal or local governments can also affect the price of gas.

From 2015 to 2021, the average eGallons price per state has been varying greatly. In 2015, the highest average price was in Alaska at $0.42/eGallon, while the lowest was in South Carolina at $0.20/eGallon. De Haan said in a tweet Sunday the chances of a $5 nationwide average are “somewhat remote” but remain a small possibility.

what is the highest gas price in history

The most expensive county for gas is Mono County, which borders Nevada and includes the tourist destination Mammoth Mountain. Short, timely articles with graphics on energy, facts, issues, and trends. Monthly and yearly energy forecasts, analysis of energy topics, financial analysis, congressional reports.

Inflation is the rate at which the prices of services or products increase. You can also call it the annual product or service price growth. Inflation and gas price have a directly proportional relationship, So when one rises, it also leads the other to increase. The chart below shows the average gasoline cost per year based on adjusted inflation in 2020. In the last five years, the price of gas has remained steady between $2.74 and $3.29 per gallon. In a Gas Buddy study, 19 states had the highest gas prices at the end of the work week.

In late January, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil (WTI) Prices—a benchmark for oil prices—closed at $75.09, marking a 72-cent increase. This rise followed the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) report of a substantial 9.2 million-barrel decrease in total domestic commercial crude stocks. The notable drop suggests potential price increases if demand rises due to a tightening supply. As it stands, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States right now is $4.865, according to AAA. That’s a new all-time high not only on a national level but in all 50 states.

Ways to Save Money on Gas

Similarly, prices tend to rise during the spring and summer months when more drivers are on the road. Winter months usually have lower gas prices since people tend to drive less due to the poor road conditions. Gas is also cheaper for refiners because they don’t have to worry about evaporation. The highest average gas price was $3.64 in 2012, which is 167% more expensive than a decade earlier. Mississippi has the lowest price of gas, with an average of $2.98 per gallon of regular gas.

The national average state tax for gasoline is 31.67 cents per gallon. The average price of gasoline spiked to $1.353 a gallon that year — up from $1.221 in 1980 and more than double the price just three years earlier. Adjusted for inflation, the average price of gas in 1981 would have equaled $2.421 a gallon in 2020. We divided this personal disposable income figure by 52, to approximate weekly income.

  1. If the demand is low and the supply solid, prices tend to fall.
  2. The Golden State is the only one to average more than $5 a gallon.
  3. However, remember the following things while calculating the gas price.
  4. That would show how burdensome higher gas prices actually are for the average household.
  5. Kroger, for example, gives members one fuel point for every $1 spent in Kroger supermarkets.

Although this price is much higher than the current average gas price, it is significantly lower than in previous years. For example, in 2000, the average gas price was over $1.50 per gallon more than in 2008. Despite the high gas price, many people continue to rely on their vehicles as their main mode of transportation. Moreover, the prices also depend on the location of gas stations. If there are multiple gas stations in a single area, the competition becomes very high.

Refining Cost

Even beyond gasoline, research shows that people tend to exaggerate price increases in their mind, he said. Even so, if you’re seeing red over gas prices, it’s not your imagination. We found that today’s gasoline price as a share of income has spiked compared with 2020, to 3.1% from about 2.1%.

The more people, the more likely they drive cars and trucks, so more gasoline is required. Since sweet/light crude oil is hard to access, you’ll notice its price to be high. On the other hand, sour/heavy oil is globally available, so its price is much lower than sweet/light crude oil. The average price of diesel fuel is $4.99 in the United States.

How high are today’s gas prices compared with recent history?

Reserves, production, prices, employment and productivity, distribution, stocks, imports and exports. Exploration and reserves, storage, imports and exports, production, prices, sales. Former Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said Thursday he is putting together an investor group that will try to purchase https://www.tradebot.online/ the app. With overall inflation now reaching a three-decade high, Americans are worried. Despite positive numbers in job gains and economic growth, stubbornly high levels of inflation have cast a pall on the public’s view of the economy. The table below displays the average eGallons price per state.

Average Gas Prices by Year

The average price of a gallon of gas one year ago today was $3.47. One of the main components of the rising costs is the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. Tom Kloza, chief global analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, told USA TODAY that Russia is the second-largest oil producer in the world, behind the United States.

In the city of Gorda, about 140 miles south of San Francisco on the coast, one station charged $7.59, KSBW reported. That said, today’s percentage remains well below the levels of 2008 to 2014. For five of the seven years during that period, a 10-gallon weekly purchase represented 4.2% to 4.8% of disposable income. When we asked economists and energy experts, they agreed on two takeaways. They said the price of gasoline today is not all that high when compared with the past three decades. But they also said the year-over-year price rise is a legitimate concern.