Gas Prices by Year Statistics in US 2026 | Key Facts

Gas Prices by Year in America 2026

Gas prices in the United States are finally giving American drivers something to genuinely smile about heading into 2026. As of the week of February 24, 2026, the national average retail price for regular gasoline sits at approximately $2.90 per gallon — a drop of more than $0.22 per gallon compared to the same point one year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). For context, that figure is nearly a dollar and a half cheaper than the all-time record monthly average of $5.01 per gallon reached in June 2022. The EIA’s February 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) projects the full-year 2026 national average will settle at $2.91 per gallon — marking the fourth consecutive annual decline and the first year with an annual average below $3.00 since 2020. The forces driving this sustained downward trend are well-documented: falling global crude oil prices, a global supply surplus led by production growth from both OPEC+ nations and record-breaking U.S. domestic output, and steady fuel efficiency gains across the American vehicle fleet that are trimming gasoline demand even as total miles driven continue to rise.

From a household budget standpoint, the numbers are even more meaningful for everyday Americans. GasBuddy’s 2026 Fuel Price Outlook projects that American motorists will collectively spend $11 billion less on gasoline in 2026 compared to 2025, with the average U.S. household on track to spend $2,083 on gas for the full year — down sharply from $2,716 in 2022 at the height of the price crisis. The EIA’s February 2026 STEO places the Brent crude oil annual average forecast at $58 per barrel for 2026, down from $69 per barrel in 2025, while WTI crude is projected at $52 per barrel — its lowest annual average since 2020. While regional disparities remain wide — California drivers averaging $4.50 per gallon while Oklahoma drivers pay as little as $2.34 — the overall national trend points in one unmistakably positive direction. This piece brings together the most current, government-verified gas prices by year statistics in the US 2026 to give you the fullest and most accurate picture of where American pump prices stand today and where they are headed through the rest of the year.

Key Facts & Interesting Statistics: Gas Prices by Year in the US 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Weekly Petroleum Status Report, February 2026; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 10, 2026; GasBuddy 2026 Fuel Price Outlook; AAA Fuel Prices, February 2026

These numbers tell a story that is both straightforward and somewhat nuanced at the same time. At $2.902 per gallon as of February 9, 2026 — the most recent EIA weekly data point available — the national average for regular gasoline has fallen by more than 22 cents versus the same week one year prior. That kind of year-over-year decline is consistent with what the EIA describes as a third consecutive year of roughly 6–7% annual price drops, a trend that began unwinding after the 2022 record peak. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive states remains enormous: at $4.50 per gallon in California versus $2.34 per gallon in Oklahoma, drivers in the Golden State pay nearly double what drivers in the Sooner State pay at the same pump. That spread is driven by California’s uniquely strict reformulated fuel standards, its exceptionally high state gasoline tax of 68.1 cents per gallon, and its near-total dependency on a small cluster of in-state refineries. Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast’s $2.476 per gallon versus the West Coast’s $3.938 per gallon illustrates just how dramatically geography, refinery proximity, and state-level policy shape what American families actually pay every time they fill up.

US Gas Prices by Year — Last 20 Years Historical Data in the US (2005–2026)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Annual Average Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices, Monthly Energy Review; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 10, 2026; U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center

The 20-year historical record of US gas prices by year paints a picture of a market shaped by three towering cycles: the pre-financial-crisis run-up (2005–2008), the shale-era plateau and collapse (2011–2016), and the pandemic-and-war-driven whipsaw (2020–2022). The single most dramatic year in the entire dataset is 2008, when the annual average hit $3.27 per gallon on the back of an intra-year crude oil peak of $147 per barrel in July 2008 — only to collapse as the global financial crisis wiped out demand in the second half of the year. 2009’s drop of $0.92 per gallon (−28.1%) stands as the joint-largest single-year decline in the full 20-year window, matched only by 2015’s $0.92 fall (−27.3%) when OPEC launched its first sustained price war against American shale producers. Between those two crushing drops sits the 2011–2014 era, a four-year stretch where the annual average never fell below $3.37 per gallon — representing the most expensive sustained period for American drivers in the modern record, driven entirely by tight global supply meeting recovering post-recession demand, year after year.

The 2020–2022 cycle is arguably the most volatile three-year period the US gasoline market has ever seen in such a short window. 2020’s $2.17 average was the product of the most sudden demand collapse in history as COVID-19 shutdowns emptied highways and grounded aircraft within weeks; West Texas Intermediate crude prices went negative in April 2020 — an event without precedent in the oil market’s entire modern history. The rebound in 2021 (+38.7%) and 2022 (+31.2%) delivered two of the three largest single-year percentage increases in the entire 20-year record, driven by a reopening demand surge that global refineries simply could not keep up with, compounded in 2022 by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine removing significant supply from European markets. The four consecutive annual declines from 2023 through 2026 — a cumulative drop of $1.04 per gallon off the 2022 annual average — represent a rare and extended period of price relief, underpinned by record US crude output and structurally weaker global demand growth than pre-pandemic forecasts had ever projected.

Gas Prices Annual Average Summary in the US 2026 (2015–2026)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Annual Average Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 10, 2026

Looking at this focused 2015–2026 window, the market’s two defining eras come into sharp relief. The 2015–2020 period was one of relative restraint, with prices largely ranging between $2.14 and $2.72 per gallon — affordable by historical standards and close to the long-run inflation-adjusted norm. 2016’s $2.14 annual average stands as the cheapest full-year average in the entire modern era, the direct result of OPEC’s strategic decision to flood the market and squeeze high-cost shale producers into submission. The COVID year of 2020 at $2.17 nearly matched that low, but for entirely different and far more disruptive reasons. The contrast with 2022’s $3.95 average — reached just two years after the pandemic low — underscores how rapidly energy prices can move when supply and demand fundamentally disconnect. The cumulative swing from the 2020 low of $2.17 to the 2022 high of $3.95 is $1.78 per gallon in just 24 months, the steepest two-year climb in the entire 20-year record by a significant margin.

The post-2022 recovery trend is just as striking on the downside. Each year from 2023 through 2026 has delivered a remarkably consistent −6% to −11% annual decline, a pattern that reflects not a single dramatic event but rather a structural shift: US crude production at record highs near 13.6 million barrels per day, OPEC+ supply discipline fraying at the edges as member nations increasingly cheat on quotas, and American consumers driving progressively more fuel-efficient vehicles each year. The 2026 forecast of $2.91 per gallon would bring the annual average back to its lowest level since 2020 and within clear sight of the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of $2.60 — suggesting that barring a major geopolitical disruption, the era of routine $3.50–$4.00 annual average gasoline that defined 2011–2014 and again 2021–2023 may be giving way to a structurally lower-priced new baseline for American drivers.

Gas Prices by Month in the US 2026 — Monthly Average Gas Prices

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly average data; LendingTree analysis, February 13, 2026

GasBuddy 2026 Monthly Gas Price Forecast in the US 2026

Source: GasBuddy 2026 Fuel Price Outlook, January 2026; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 10, 2026

The monthly gas price data tells a story of two clear and predictable seasonal rhythms that repeat consistently year after year. Looking at the trailing 12 months of actual EIA figures, prices were remarkably stable through the summer and early fall of 2025, hovering in a tight band between $3.05 and $3.17 per gallon, before dropping sharply into winter. December 2025’s $2.89 average was a genuine milestone — the first monthly average below $3.00 since May 2021 — and that momentum carried directly into January 2026 with a $2.81 average, the lowest monthly reading American drivers had seen in years. The seasonal spread of around 36 cents per gallon between the 2025 monthly highs and the January 2026 low is driven by the well-understood winter gasoline blend cost advantage: refineries produce a simpler, cheaper-to-make winter-blend fuel that compresses the refining cost component of pump prices by 8–10 cents per gallon compared to summer-blend requirements.

Looking ahead through 2026, the GasBuddy monthly forecast projects the seasonal pattern will follow traditional dynamics closely: a gradual rise from winter lows to a projected peak of $3.12 in May 2026 as refineries switch to costlier summer-blend gasoline and spring driving demand ramps up across the country, followed by a moderate decline through the back half of the year to a projected December 2026 low of $2.83. The EIA’s own quarterly breakdown broadly confirms this arc, projecting Q1 2026 at $2.88, Q2 at $3.04, Q3 at $2.97, and Q4 at $2.76 per gallon — all meaningfully below the equivalent quarters in 2025. The projected peak-to-trough spread for 2026 of approximately $0.31 is notably narrower than the $0.36 spread seen in 2025, suggesting that softer crude prices are compressing both the floor and the ceiling of the seasonal price swing simultaneously.

Gas Prices by State in the US 2026 — Highest & Lowest State Prices

Source: AAA Fuel Prices state-level data, February 10, 2026; American Petroleum Institute state gasoline tax data, 2026

The state-level gas price data for 2026 exposes one of the most persistent and financially consequential features of the American gasoline market: the enormous and widening spread between what drivers in the highest and lowest-price states actually pay at the pump. The $2.16-per-gallon gap between California at $4.50 and Oklahoma at $2.34 means a driver in Los Angeles with a 15-gallon tank pays $32.40 more per fill-up than a driver in Tulsa filling the exact same tank. Over the course of a year, for a driver filling up once weekly, that difference compounds to roughly $1,685 per year — a number that dwarfs the practical impact of most other consumer-facing policy decisions. California’s pricing structure has three reinforcing layers: a state excise tax of 68.1 cents per gallon (the highest in the nation), mandatory use of California-specific reformulated gasoline that requires dedicated refinery runs no other state demands, and a cap-and-trade carbon cost that adds approximately 20–25 cents per gallon on top of all other taxes and fees.

The Gulf Coast states — Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Oklahoma — sit at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum for an equally logical set of interconnected reasons. These states combine true refinery proximity (over 45% of total US refining capacity sits along the Gulf Coast corridor), low state gasoline taxes (Mississippi at 18.4 cents per gallon, Texas at 20 cents per gallon), and no special fuel-blend requirements that would force refiners to run more expensive dedicated production cycles. The result is that Gulf Coast consumers pay something very close to the raw production cost of fuel plus modest taxes, while West Coast consumers pay that same base cost plus a substantial regulatory and tax premium that has been compounding for decades and shows no structural path to narrowing under current state law.

Gas Prices by Region (PADD) in the US 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices, Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADD), February 9, 2026

The PADD regional breakdown for 2026 captures a gasoline market that is deeply uneven by geography, with the West Coast’s $3.94 per gallon standing $1.46 above the Gulf Coast’s $2.48 — a gap that reflects not just tax policy but deeply embedded physical infrastructure realities that have built up over decades. The Gulf Coast (PADD 3) is home to the largest concentration of petroleum refining capacity in the world, with roughly 9 of the top 15 largest US refineries located in Texas and Louisiana alone. That structural advantage keeps PADD 3 prices consistently 40–50 cents below the national average regardless of what crude oil is doing globally. The Midwest (PADD 2) at $2.79 benefits from both Gulf Coast pipeline access and a cluster of mid-continent refineries processing Canadian crude imports via pipeline, making it one of the more reliably affordable regions for motorists in the country.

The West Coast (PADD 5) operates as a virtual island market cut off from the rest of the national fuel distribution system. It has limited pipeline connections to the rest of the country and relies heavily on tanker shipments and a relatively small number of California-compliant refineries for its supply. When even one major California refinery experiences an unplanned outage, state pump prices can jump 30–50 cents per gallon within days because there is no quick pipeline alternative to backfill supply — a dynamic that played out multiple times in 2023 and 2024. The $3.94 PADD 5 average in February 2026 is actually near the lower end of recent norms for that region, reflecting the general downward pull of softer global crude prices even on the West Coast’s uniquely constrained and structurally expensive fuel market.

What Makes Up the Price of Gas in the US 2026 — Price Components

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — “What We Pay For in a Gallon of Gasoline,” updated for 2026 price levels; EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 10, 2026

The price component breakdown for 2026 tells you exactly why crude oil prices matter so much to what you pay at the pump — and why the tax and refining components are larger than most drivers appreciate. At roughly 54% of the retail price, crude oil is by far the dominant cost driver in a gallon of gasoline, which is why the EIA’s forecast of Brent crude at $58 per barrel in 2026 (down from $69 per barrel in 2025) translates so directly into lower pump prices nationally. For every $10 per barrel decline in crude oil, the theoretical pass-through to retail gasoline prices is approximately 23–24 cents per gallon — meaning the $11 per barrel drop from 2025’s Brent average to the 2026 forecast mathematically accounts for most of the $0.19 per gallon year-over-year decline the EIA projects. The refining component at roughly 15% is the most volatile part of the non-crude cost structure: it can swing dramatically when refinery outages tighten regional supply or when refinery crack spreads weaken due to oversupply of finished product.

Taxes are the one component of the pump price that never goes down on their own — and they are larger in aggregate than most American drivers realize. The federal excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has not changed since 1993, meaning it has been eroded by more than 50% in real purchasing power terms over three decades. But when that fixed federal tax is combined with the average state excise tax of approximately 32–35 cents per gallon plus various local taxes and environmental fees, the total government tax take on a gallon of regular gasoline averages around 55 cents nationwide — roughly 19% of the retail price at the current $2.91 national average. California’s total tax and fee burden of over $1.15 per gallon — combining state excise tax, carbon cap-and-trade charges, state sales tax applied to fuel, and various underground storage tank fees — is the single largest reason that state remains the most expensive place to purchase gasoline in the continental United States in 2026.

EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook: Gas Price Forecast in the US 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), February 10, 2026

The EIA’s February 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook presents a quarterly picture that is consistent with the annual forecast and instructive about the seasonal dynamics that will shape the rest of the year. The Q2 2026 peak projection of $3.04 per gallon aligns with the traditional spring-summer price bump driven by the summer-blend gasoline switchover and the Memorial Day through Labor Day driving season — but it is a notably subdued peak compared to recent years, sitting $0.13 below Q2 2025’s actual average and more than $1.00 below Q2 2022. The EIA’s projected WTI crude range of $63–71 per barrel across the four quarters of 2026 reflects the agency’s core view that global supply growth — particularly from non-OPEC+ producers including the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Guyana — will continue to outpace global demand growth, keeping a structural ceiling on crude prices absent a major unforeseen disruption.

The Q4 2026 forecast of $2.76 per gallon is particularly noteworthy because it would represent the lowest quarterly average American drivers have experienced since early 2021, before the post-COVID energy price surge took hold. If the EIA forecast holds, the back half of 2026 will deliver genuinely comfortable gasoline prices by any modern standard. The primary risk to this forecast, as the EIA itself openly acknowledges, is a significant OPEC+ production cut or a major geopolitical disruption in a key oil-producing region — the same factors that have derailed optimistic forecasts in 2011, 2014, and most dramatically in 2022. For now, the weight of market evidence firmly supports a continuation of the downward trend that has defined US gas prices by year every year since the historic 2022 peak.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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