The national average gas price this week is $3.02, up from $3.01. US gas prices over the last year are among the highest since 2018. However, thankfully that trend has reversed itself in recent months and gas prices are heading in the right direction. Over the past six years, the price of gas has averaged $3.05 per gallon — or $-0.03 a gallon less expensive than today.
Gas prices over the last couple years are well above the six-year national average, hitting $4.99 a gallon in the week of June 16, 2022 — a week in which Californians paid a whopping $6.43 per gallon.
Both prices are the highest figures in our dataset.
The current national average of $3.02 a gallon is higher than the average cost of gas since 2018: $3.05 a gallon.
This means what you’ll pay at the pump in 2024 is about $-0.03 more expensive than the national six-year average.
Hawaii has the most expensive gas in the US as of Dec. 19, 2024, with the highest gas prices in the US costing $4.55 a gallon. It’s followed by California ($4.31) and Washington ($3.92) as the next two most expensive states to buy gas.
At the other end of the spectrum, gas is at its cheapest in Oklahoma, costing just $2.58 as of Dec. 19, 2024. The next cheapest state to buy a gallon of gas is Mississippi ($2.60) followed by Arkansas ($2.66).
Gas prices are up on average for the US as a whole, with the price of gas rising in 24 out of the 51 states over the last week.
The national average gas price rose from $3.01 per gallon on Dec. 12, 2024, to $3.02 per gallon on Dec. 19, 2024 — an increase of $0.01 per gallon or about 0%.
Week-on-week price increases were seen in states including New Mexico (up $0.12), Colorado (up $0.09) and Texas (up $0.09).
Delaware saw gas prices fall $0.08, while Maryland saw drops of $0.06 and Arizona $0.04.
US gas prices per gallon have wavered between a national average of $1.84 and $4.99 since 2018.
Americans saw the lowest annual average in 2020, when the average cost for a gallon of gas was $2.19. Fast-forward three years and gas is running an average of $3.32 so far in 2024.
Gas prices have tracked above the six-year national average consistently since early March 2021.
The year 2024 is seeing higher-than-average gas prices, with the lowest weekly national average so far this year coming in at $3.01 (Dec. 12, 2024) a gallon — which is lowver than the six-year average of $3.05 a gallon.
It’s been an expensive year for gas in the US. How expensive? Well, in 2022 alone, we’ve seen the 10 most expensive national average prices since 2018.
While 2022 is the year of expensive gas, 2020 is host to all 10 of the cheapest gas prices since 2018.
Gas prices are the top concern for American adults, with 86% saying they are concerned about the price of gas going forward, according to Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index. This is slightly ahead of house hold bills and groceries at 85%.
In fact, 25% of respondents are extremely concerned about the cost of gas, representing the highest percentage of extreme worry among those surveyed.
To give an idea of how much you’ll pay to fill up your car, we ran the numbers on these 50 sought-after makes and models.
The most expensive model to fill up is the Ram 2500 in 2024, costing you some $106.31 at the pump. In 2023, you could have topped off the tank with $113.40.
The most costly SUVs to fill up are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota 4Runner. Both set you back $81.50 at the gas station, while you could have filled up with $91.53 a year ago.
The most expensive sedan at the pump is a Toyota Camry. The Toyota Camry costs you $52.49 to fuel up in 2024, although sedans cost much less than other vehicles. Last year’s cost: $55.99.
As mentioned before, the Ram 2500 comes in as the most expensive vehicle to fill up with gas, followed by the Ford F-150 and the Ram 1500 both at $86.38 to fill.
At the other end of the spectrum are both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla Cross at a cost of $41.20 for a tank of gas, with the Mazda CX-30 in third at $42.19.
*These are the least expensive vehicles out of the 50 looked at by Finder.We based each model’s fuel tank capacity on the 2022 base model, according to Edmunds(4).
The US consumed roughly 137 billion gallons (or about 3.26 billion barrels) of gasoline in 2023, according to the The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)(7). This was a marked increase on 2020, when the pandemic saw massive drops in gas consumption, with April 2020 seeing a reduction of 40% compared to April 2019 before consumption rebounded later in the year(3).
You could save between $105 to $138 per month on fuel costs by choosing a fully electric vehicle over a gas-powered one. However, the exact amount you’ll spend on charging an electric car depends on where you charge it.
Charging at home may cost you in the ballpark of $40 per month, if you drive 14,000 miles per year and get four miles per kilowatt-hour (kWh). We base the at-home cost on the average home electricity cost of 14 cents per kWh, according to the Energy Information Administration(5).
However, a Level 3 fast-charging station might run closer to $73 per month, based on EVgo’s fee(6) of $0.25 per kWh. At this price point, EVgo also charges a $7 monthly subscription fee.
Compare your savings to the average monthly gas cost across the 50 US states, which is $177.85. That cost is based on 2022 gas prices and each state’s average monthly mileage according to the Bureau of Transportation.
If you’re considering an electric vehicle, keep other electric vehicle costs and incentives in mind, such as installing an at-home battery charger or getting federal tax credits.
Get an idea of how much you’ll pay each time you charge these popular electric models. Charging at home typically costs you two to three times less than charging at a Level 3 fast-charging station.
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Key information from the Consumer Price Index: Current rate, historical data, and how the US compares to other countries.