What Did Gas Cost the Year You Were Born?
The number on the pump never told the whole story. Slide to any year since 1970 to see the U.S. average price of regular gasoline both as it was — and what that really means in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation.
A gallon of regular cost
That’s +54.1% more than gas costs today, adjusted for inflation (2025 dollars).
In 1975, gas cost $0.56/gal — that’s $3.34 in today’s money.
US Gas Gauge · U.S. EIA data
The ochre line is the honest one: in 2025 dollars, gas bit hardest during the early-1980s oil shock and again around 2011–12, and was cheapest near the turn of the millennium.
Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gas in modern U.S. history came in 1981 at $4.66 a gallon in 2025 dollars; the cheapest was 1998 at $2.01. Right now the U.S. average is around $2.17. See today’s prices by state →
Want the full write-up for a single year? Browse gas prices by year, 1970–1999 →
View the full data (30 years)
| Year | At the pump | 2025 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | $0.34 | $2.84 |
| 1971 | $0.35 | $2.77 |
| 1972 | $0.35 | $2.67 |
| 1973 | $0.37 | $2.70 |
| 1974 | $0.52 | $3.39 |
| 1975 | $0.56 | $3.34 |
| 1976 | $0.58 | $3.29 |
| 1977 | $0.62 | $3.28 |
| 1978 | $0.63 | $3.11 |
| 1979 | $0.86 | $3.79 |
| 1980 | $1.18 | $4.63 |
| 1981 | $1.32 | $4.66 |
| 1982 | $1.25 | $4.17 |
| 1983 | $1.10 | $3.55 |
| 1984 | $1.07 | $3.31 |
| 1985 | $1.08 | $3.24 |
| 1986 | $0.82 | $2.40 |
| 1987 | $0.87 | $2.46 |
| 1988 | $0.88 | $2.40 |
| 1989 | $0.96 | $2.51 |
| 1990 | $1.10 | $2.70 |
| 1991 | $1.07 | $2.54 |
| 1992 | $1.08 | $2.47 |
| 1993 | $1.07 | $2.38 |
| 1994 | $1.08 | $2.35 |
| 1995 | $1.11 | $2.35 |
| 1996 | $1.19 | $2.44 |
| 1997 | $1.18 | $2.37 |
| 1998 | $1.02 | $2.01 |
| 1999 | $1.12 | $2.17 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data System (national annual series). Inflation adjustment uses the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), constant 2025 dollars.