Gas prices surge to highest since 2022, squeezing tight budgets nationwide

Every extra trip to the pump is now forcing a tradeoff for households already living close to the edge, whether that means cutting back on groceries, delaying a delivery run or finding a cheaper commute. The national average for regular gasoline climbed to $4.558 a gallon on May 7, the highest level since July 2022, after AAA put the average at $4.54 the day before. EIA’s weekly data showed the U.S. average at $4.452 for the week ending May 4, up 32.9 cents from the prior week and $1.305 higher than a year earlier.

The burden is landing unevenly across the country. California’s average regular gasoline price was $5.959 a gallon on May 4 and $6.01 on May 6, while San Francisco has been running around $6.09 to $6.13 a gallon. Washington stood at $5.529 on May 4, far above Texas at $3.877. Oklahoma has been among the cheapest states cited in recent data, near $3.90 a gallon. For commuters and lower-income families, those gaps matter every day, because fuel is not optional in the same way other household expenses sometimes are.

The latest surge followed the Middle East oil shock, and AAA said the national average had moved above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 as the Iran war pushed fuel prices higher worldwide. The move has quickly widened the gap between what drivers are paying now and what they were paying only months ago, especially in states where long commutes and car dependency leave little room to adjust.

Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy has said prices were only 16 cents away from the $4.50 mark, underscoring how rapidly the market has tightened. EIA says it tracks retail gasoline prices weekly across the nation, by region and by state, with historical comparisons going back to the 1970s. Its gasoline prices and outlook page also includes forecasts for average monthly, quarterly and annual U.S. retail regular-grade gasoline prices in the Short-Term Energy Outlook, a benchmark that will show whether today’s spike eases or remains embedded in household budgets.