Gas prices by year
What gas cost, every year since 1980
Each year of regular gasoline, read three ways: the sticker price, the same gallon in August 2026 dollars, and the minutes of work it took to earn at that year’s average wage. The priciest real year on the sign is 2012; the cheapest is 1998. Click a year for the full read, or slide to yours on the chart.
| Year | At the pump | Today’s dollars | Minutes of work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | $1.25 | $5.06 | 10.9 |
| 1981 | $1.38 | $5.08 | 11.1 |
| 1982 | $1.30 | $4.50 | 9.9 |
| 1983 | $1.24 | $4.17 | 9.1 |
| 1984 | $1.21 | $3.91 | 8.6 |
| 1985 | $1.20 | $3.74 | 8.3 |
| 1986 | $0.93 | $2.84 | 6.2 |
| 1987 | $0.95 | $2.80 | 6.2 |
| 1988 | $0.95 | $2.68 | 6.0 |
| 1989 | $1.02 | $2.76 | 6.3 |
| 1990 | $1.15 | $2.96 | 6.8 |
| 1991 | $1.10 | $2.71 | 6.3 |
| 1992 | $1.09 | $2.59 | 6.0 |
| 1993 | $1.07 | $2.47 | 5.8 |
| 1994 | $1.07 | $2.43 | 5.7 |
| 1995 | $1.11 | $2.44 | 5.7 |
| 1996 | $1.20 | $2.56 | 6.0 |
| 1997 | $1.20 | $2.50 | 5.8 |
| 1998 | $1.03 | $2.12 | 4.8 |
| 1999 | $1.13 | $2.28 | 5.0 |
| 2000 | $1.49 | $2.89 | 6.4 |
| 2001 | $1.43 | $2.70 | 5.9 |
| 2002 | $1.34 | $2.49 | 5.4 |
| 2003 | $1.56 | $2.84 | 6.1 |
| 2004 | $1.85 | $3.28 | 7.1 |
| 2005 | $2.27 | $3.89 | 8.4 |
| 2006 | $2.57 | $4.27 | 9.2 |
| 2007 | $2.80 | $4.52 | 9.6 |
| 2008 | $3.25 | $5.05 | 10.8 |
| 2009 | $2.34 | $3.66 | 7.6 |
| 2010 | $2.78 | $4.27 | 8.8 |
| 2011 | $3.52 | $5.24 | 10.9 |
| 2012 | $3.62 | $5.29 | 11.0 |
| 2013 | $3.51 | $5.04 | 10.5 |
| 2014 | $3.36 | $4.76 | 9.8 |
| 2015 | $2.42 | $3.42 | 6.9 |
| 2016 | $2.15 | $2.99 | 6.0 |
| 2017 | $2.42 | $3.30 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | $2.72 | $3.63 | 7.2 |
| 2019 | $2.60 | $3.40 | 6.6 |
| 2020 | $2.17 | $2.81 | 5.3 |
| 2021 | $3.00 | $3.70 | 6.9 |
| 2022 | $3.96 | $4.53 | 8.6 |
| 2023 | $3.52 | $3.87 | 7.3 |
| 2024 | $3.31 | $3.53 | 6.6 |
| 2025 | $3.10 | $3.23 | 5.9 |
| 2026so far | $3.75 | $3.78 | 7.0 |
Annual figures are the mean of that year’s monthly averages; 2026 covers the months published so far. Wondering about this week instead? Why is gas so expensive right now?
Sources: EIA and BLS retail price series, CPI-U, and average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers (BLS, via FRED). Today’s dollars use the August 2026 CPI. The full monthly CSV is on the sources section; this page rebuilds every Monday.