Gasoline price statistics show how retail fuel costs changed across the United States, regions, grades, inflation measures, transportation use, and long-term efficiency series. The figures below distinguish cash prices, CPI changes, and national transportation aggregates by measurement period and geography.
Key Gasoline Price Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In calendar year 2024, U.S. regular gasoline averaged $3.30 per gallon, $0.21 below the 2023 average.
- In late April 2024, the U.S. regular-gasoline weekly price reached $3.67 per gallon, its national peak for the year.
- In early December 2024, the U.S. regular-gasoline weekly price fell to $3.01 per gallon, its annual low.
- From December 2023 to December 2024, the all-types gasoline CPI decreased 3.4% for the U.S. city average CPI-U.
- In December 2024, gasoline represented 3.095% of the CPI basket’s relative importance for the U.S. city average CPI-U.
- In calendar year 2024, the annual regional regular-gasoline average ranged from $2.89 per gallon on the Gulf Coast to $4.18 on the West Coast.
- From 2023 to 2024, Rocky Mountain regular-gasoline prices decreased $0.42 per gallon, the largest regional decrease reported.
- In 2024, U.S. rural-and-urban fuel consumption totaled 171.812 billion gallons under the FHWA measure.
- In 2024, average fuel consumption was 577 gallons per vehicle across total rural and urban vehicles.
- In 2024, average miles traveled per gallon were 19.2 across total rural and urban vehicles.
- In 2024, total rural-and-urban person-miles of travel reached 5,183,762 million in the United States.
- In 2024, the United States registered 297,525,836 motor vehicles under the FHWA vehicle categories.
- In 2000, the annual average monthly retail gasoline cost was $1.52 per gallon in the United States.
- In 2008, the annual average monthly retail gasoline cost reached $3.31 per gallon in nominal dollars.
- In 2024, the annual average monthly retail gasoline cost was $3.43 per gallon, about 125% above the 2000 level in nominal terms.
- From 2000 to 2024, average monthly U.S. vehicle miles traveled rose from about 229 billion to about 275 billion.
- In 2024, U.S. travel totaled about 3.3 trillion miles and fuel consumption about 172 billion gallons, yielding 19.2 miles per gallon as a national ratio.
- In 1973, average miles traveled per gallon reached a historical series low of 11.9 in the United States.
Contents
- Monthly U.S. gasoline price statistics and recent trends
- Gasoline price data by region and fuel grade
- Gasoline price inflation and consumer cost statistics
- Gasoline prices, vehicle travel, and fuel consumption
- Long-term gasoline price statistics from 2000 to 2024
- Gasoline price efficiency and historical context
Monthly U.S. Gasoline Price Statistics and Recent Trends
The Energy Information Administration’s all-grades, all-formulations series records a decline from September 2023 through January 2024, followed by a spring rebound and another decline through December 2024. These are nominal retail prices in dollars per gallon, and the all-grades measure is not identical to the regular-grade annual series.
| Month | U.S. all-grades average |
|---|---|
| September 2023 | $3.958 per gallon |
| October 2023 | $3.742 per gallon |
| November 2023 | $3.443 per gallon |
| December 2023 | $3.257 per gallon |
| January 2024 | $3.197 per gallon |
| February 2024 | $3.328 per gallon |
| March 2024 | $3.542 per gallon |
| April 2024 | $3.733 per gallon |
| May 2024 | $3.725 per gallon |
| June 2024 | $3.576 per gallon |
| July 2024 | $3.600 per gallon |
| August 2024 | $3.507 per gallon |
| September 2024 | $3.338 per gallon |
| October 2024 | $3.261 per gallon |
| November 2024 | $3.175 per gallon |
| December 2024 | $3.139 per gallon |
Source: U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices. The series is a nominal retail price including all formulations.
The EIA’s regular-gasoline analysis reports a $3.30 per gallon 2024 annual average, $0.21 below 2023. The national weekly regular-gasoline peak was $3.67 per gallon in late April, while the annual low was $3.01 per gallon in early December.
First-half 2024 regular-gasoline prices averaged 2%, or $0.08 per gallon, below first-half 2023. Second-half prices averaged 10%, or $0.34 per gallon, below second-half 2023.
Source: In 2024, U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged about 20 cents less than in 2023. The peak and low are weekly retail observations, not annual averages.
Gasoline Price Data by Region and Fuel Grade
Regional gasoline statistics show a wide spread in 2024 regular-gasoline annual averages. The Gulf Coast average was $2.89 per gallon, compared with $4.18 on the West Coast.
| 2024 region | Regular-gasoline annual average |
|---|---|
| Gulf Coast | $2.89 per gallon |
| West Coast | $4.18 per gallon |
The same EIA comparison records different year-over-year movements by region. Rocky Mountain regular-gasoline prices fell $0.42 per gallon from 2023 to 2024, the largest regional decrease, while West Coast prices fell $0.33 per gallon, the second-largest decrease.
Source: In 2024, U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged about 20 cents less than in 2023. These are regular gasoline, all formulations, in nominal dollars.
The monthly EIA table used above is explicitly an all-grades, all-formulations retail series. Because grade, formulation, taxes, region, and sampling period can differ, a monthly all-grades observation should not be treated as interchangeable with a regular-grade regional annual average.
Gasoline Price Inflation and Consumer Cost Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures gasoline inflation through the CPI-U U.S. city average, which captures price change rather than a cash price per gallon. In December 2024, the all-types gasoline CPI index was 270.667 on the 1982-84=100 base.
| CPI gasoline measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline, all types | December 2023 to December 2024 | -3.4% |
| Gasoline, all types | November to December 2024, seasonally adjusted | -1.1% |
| Unleaded regular | December 2023 to December 2024 | -3.5% |
| Unleaded midgrade | December 2023 to December 2024 | -2.9% |
| Unleaded premium | December 2023 to December 2024 | -3.0% |
| Motor fuel aggregate | December 2023 to December 2024 | -3.8% |
Source: Consumer Price Index News Release – 2024 M12 Results. The gasoline CPI changes are U.S. city average CPI-U measures; motor fuel is broader than gasoline alone.
The December 2024 gasoline relative importance was 3.095% of the CPI basket. This is a CPI expenditure weight, not a household-specific share of spending, so it should not be read as the exact gasoline budget for every driver.
The BLS source table also reports a seasonally adjusted monthly change for gasoline all types of 0.6% from November to December 2024. That figure should not be confused with the separate unadjusted monthly change reported for the gasoline CPI measure.
Gasoline Prices, Vehicle Travel, and Fuel Consumption
FHWA transportation statistics place gasoline-price context alongside national vehicle, travel, fuel, and efficiency measures. These aggregates cover total rural and urban activity and are not measures of portable-generator use or household gasoline consumption alone.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total rural-and-urban fuel consumed | 176.795 billion gallons | 171.812 billion gallons |
| Average fuel consumption per vehicle | 621 gallons | 577 gallons |
| Average miles traveled per gallon | 18.4 | 19.2 |
| Total rural-and-urban person-miles | 5,103,815 million | 5,183,762 million |
Source: Table VM-1 – Highway Statistics 2024. Fuel consumption includes the motor-fuel categories in the FHWA table, and the miles-per-gallon figure is a fleet-level ratio.
The United States registered 297,525,836 motor vehicles in 2024 under the categories defined by FHWA. Registration counts are not a count of gasoline vehicles only.
The paired 2023 and 2024 measures describe transportation scale, but they do not establish that gasoline prices caused changes in travel, fuel consumption, or efficiency. Person-miles are also different from vehicle miles and cannot be used as a gasoline-demand measure without additional assumptions.
Long-Term Gasoline Price Statistics from 2000 to 2024
FHWA’s presentation of EIA monthly retail price data provides a nominal annual average series. The early-2000s low in this supplied sequence was $1.38 per gallon in 2002, while the 2008 average reached $3.31 before falling to $2.40 in 2009.
| Year | Annual average monthly retail gasoline cost |
|---|---|
| 2000 | $1.52 per gallon |
| 2001 | $1.47 per gallon |
| 2002 | $1.38 per gallon |
| 2003 | $1.60 per gallon |
| 2004 | $1.89 per gallon |
| 2005 | $2.31 per gallon |
| 2006 | $2.62 per gallon |
| 2007 | $2.85 per gallon |
| 2008 | $3.31 per gallon |
| 2009 | $2.40 per gallon |
| 2024 | $3.43 per gallon |
Source: Motor Fuel | Our Nation’s Highways 2026. These values are nominal dollars per gallon and reflect annual averages of monthly data.
The FHWA reports that the 2024 annual average monthly retail gasoline cost was $3.43 per gallon, about 125% above the 2000 level in nominal terms. That comparison is not inflation-adjusted, so it does not measure the change in purchasing power or real gasoline cost.
Gasoline Price Efficiency and Historical Context
The long-run transportation series combines gasoline cost, vehicle miles traveled, and miles traveled per gallon. Average monthly U.S. vehicle miles traveled rose from about 229 billion per month in 2000 to about 275 billion in 2024, a 20% increase.
The same source notes that VMT decreased in four years: 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2020. This is a historical comparison of annual averages of monthly VMT, not evidence that gasoline prices alone produced those changes.
| Historical year | Average miles traveled per gallon |
|---|---|
| 1949 | 13.1 |
| 1950 | 12.8 |
| 1960 | 12.4 |
| 1970 | 12.0 |
| 1973 | 11.9, series low |
| 2024 | 19.2 |
Source: Motor Fuel | Our Nation’s Highways 2026. The historical miles-per-gallon series is a national fleet-level measure, not an individual vehicle fuel-economy rating.
For 2024, FHWA describes about 3.3 trillion miles of U.S. travel and about 172 billion gallons of fuel consumption, yielding 19.2 miles per gallon as the ratio of travel to fuel consumed. The measure is useful for national scale, but it combines the source’s travel and fuel definitions rather than isolating gasoline-only household use.