Gas prices by year · 1998
How much was gas in 1998?
A gallon of regular averaged $1.03 in 1998. The year’s low was $0.94 in December; the high, $1.09 in January.
- At the pump
- the average gallon of regular in 1998
- In today's dollars
- the same gallon at August 2026 prices
- Minutes of work
- to earn one gallon at 1998 wages
The same gallon, three ways
Sticker dollars first, since that’s the number people remember. Run through the CPI, 1998’s $1.03 gallon costs $2.12 in August 2026 dollars, against $4.06 at the pump this month. In real terms, gas was cheaper then than it is now.
The second correction is wages, which moved too. At 1998’s average hourly pay, earning one gallon took 4.8 minutes of work; today it takes 7.5. Measured in your time, gas has gotten more expensive since.
Stack all 47 years by their real average and 1998 comes 47th. The priciest year on the sign is 2012; the cheapest, this one. Diesel, for the record: $1.04 that year.
If the question is really about this week, not 1998: 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. Full series list under sources; this page rebuilds every Monday with the new EIA week.