Gas prices are down

Gas prices in the US just hit a 129-week low, with the average gallon of gas in the US costing $3.13, a price not seen since July 1, 2021.

The price of gas peaked in 2022, climbing to a record-breaking national average of roughly $5 a gallon in mid-June 2022, with Californian residents having to pay an average of $6.43.

And while gas prices trended downward for the rest of 2022, prices looked to increase again in 2023. While they didn’t see the highs of 2022, gas did hit an average of $3.87 for the month of September — well above the $3.01 average since 2018.

Luckily, respite is here. Gas prices have been consistently falling since the summer, down roughly 20% from their peak of $3.90 on September 14, 2023.

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But while prices are falling almost precipitously, the general public’s concern over gas prices isn’t.

When asked to rank their concern about various coats, respondents to Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index rated their concern highest for gas prices, with 86% expressing at least some concern.

And while student loans might be getting a lot of media attention after payments resumed in October, fewer than half the people concerned about the price of gas said they were also worried about the cost of college (42%).

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In fact, concern over the price of gas remains fairly consistent and is only down two percentage points since October 2022. In that time, the price of gas fell 25% from $3.92 on October 13, 2022, to the $3.13 it sits at today.

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Just 9% of those surveyed said they were not concerned about the price of gas, versus 25% who expressed extreme concern. The only other expenses with as extreme of a concern were groceries and energy.

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While the worrying isn’t good, the positive news is that gas prices are way down just in time for the holiday season. Gas prices in places like Colorado fell 32% since their peak earlier in the year. This leaves more money for people to spend on loved ones this holiday season, whether for the holidays this year or putting it aside in a holiday-specific savings account, sometimes called a Christmas club account or Christmas savings account, to get ready for Christmas 2024.

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• Methodology

  Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index is an ongoing quarterly nationally representative survey, so far polling more than 10,000 American adults, asking questions relating to household finances. First collected October 4-19, 2022, with subsequent surveys running between January 9 to February 17, 2023, April 11-20, 2023, July 6-18, 2023, and most recently October 11-30, 2023.

  Our data is based on an online survey of 2,033 US adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics/SAP from October 11-30, 2023, with representative quotas for gender, age and states.

  We assume the 2,033 participants in our survey represent the US population of 260.9 million Americans who are at least 18 years old, according to the July 2022 US Census Bureau population estimate⁽⁶⁾. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.

  We define generations by the age of participants at the time of the survey:

  • Gen Z — any adults born post-1997
  • Gen Y — 1981–1996
  • Gen X — 1965-1980
  • Baby boomers — anyone born pre-1964

  The American Automotive Association updates a daily list of state average gas prices in the US. Finder began tracking these prices on September 22, 2022, to compile a historical record of gas prices in the US. For historical gas price data, we used the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to record each state’s prices on Thursdays since November 30, 2017.

  Limitations: Our figures display what is available on the date in question for each month.

  We define geographical regions according to the divisions of the US Census Bureau.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Richard Laycock

Lead Editor & Insights Editor

Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based lead editor & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU). See full bio