The price of gasoline declined 1.5% in the 12 months ended December compared to the 10.1% annual increase in November, according to the most recent inflation data published Jan. 12, 2023, by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Gasoline is an important category reported within the BLS’s monthly report on consumer inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI). "Gasoline (all types)" is listed as a subcategory under the overall "Energy" index, as is fuel oil, electricity, and natural gas.
The following chart shows some of the most important figures reported in the latest CPI report.
Energy inflation as a component of the CPI’s "all items" index is part of the data set used in calculating inflation rates. Though of note, because energy prices tend to be more volatile, they (along with food prices) are stripped out when calculating core inflation rates.
This next chart highlights how gasoline prices have changed over time (gasoline inflation):
*For unfinished years, the latest inflation data (12-month based) is always displayed in the chart’s final column.
Table: Gasoline Inflation by Month and Year (1968-2023)
The below table shows the percent increase or decrease in gas prices on an annual basis by month and calendar year. As the BLS-provided figures below are 12-month periods, look to the December column to find the overall change in gas prices by calendar year. (See also: Gas Prices Adjusted for Inflation.)
| YEAR | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
| 1968 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| 1969 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| 1970 | 1.8 | 1.8 | -1.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | -1.1 | 1.1 | -0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| 1971 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 2.2 | -2.8 | -2.1 | -0.4 | -2.1 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| 1972 | -0.7 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
| 1973 | 3.5 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 14.8 | 19.6 |
| 1974 | 26.7 | 32.7 | 41.6 | 41.5 | 43.3 | 40.9 | 41.1 | 40.1 | 40.5 | 32.0 | 25.7 | 20.7 |
| 1975 | 14.3 | 8.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.0 |
| 1976 | 9.9 | 8.5 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| 1977 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| 1978 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 8.6 |
| 1979 | 10.0 | 12.4 | 16.6 | 23.5 | 29.0 | 36.5 | 42.0 | 46.0 | 49.4 | 50.5 | 50.7 | 52.1 |
| 1980 | 60.1 | 67.9 | 68.1 | 59.7 | 51.7 | 42.0 | 34.5 | 28.8 | 23.9 | 22.1 | 20.7 | 18.9 |
| 1981 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.4 |
| 1982 | 5.4 | -2.9 | -8.7 | -12.5 | -11.1 | -5.4 | -3.1 | -3.2 | -4.1 | -4.7 | -5.3 | -6.7 |
| 1983 | -8.4 | -10.0 | -9.2 | 0.2 | 2.9 | -1.5 | -2.7 | -2.2 | -1.8 | -2.1 | -2.5 | -1.6 |
| 1984 | -0.4 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 1.8 | -1.1 | -2.9 | -5.0 | -6.1 | -5.0 | -3.2 | -2.4 | -2.5 |
| 1985 | -3.7 | -4.6 | -2.4 | -0.1 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| 1986 | 4.5 | -0.2 | -14.5 | -25.4 | -24.2 | -22.2 | -27.4 | -30.5 | -28.3 | -29.8 | -30.8 | -30.7 |
| 1987 | -26.1 | -18.1 | -6.0 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 11.1 | 20.3 | 17.5 | 19.7 | 21.0 | 18.6 |
| 1988 | 9.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | -0.1 | -1.1 | -1.8 | -2.0 | -1.8 |
| 1989 | -0.1 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 16.3 | 18.9 | 18.3 | 14.9 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 8.8 | 6.9 | 6.5 |
| 1990 | 14.1 | 12.6 | 9.6 | -1.2 | -4.4 | -1.7 | -0.2 | 13.2 | 25.9 | 33.7 | 36.6 | 36.8 |
| 1991 | 19.2 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 6.3 | 4.0 | -3.7 | -10.7 | -17.3 | -16.6 | -16.2 |
| 1992 | -12.7 | -6.6 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -0.8 | 2.4 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.0 |
| 1993 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 0.2 | -3.3 | -4.8 | -4.8 | -5.8 | -2.3 | -4.3 | -5.9 |
| 1994 | -6.5 | -4.9 | -4.5 | -4.0 | -4.0 | -1.7 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| 1995 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 3.3 | -3.0 | -3.8 | -3.6 | -6.4 | -4.2 |
| 1996 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 11.6 | 12.4 |
| 1997 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 4.6 | -2.6 | -7.1 | -5.0 | -4.9 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 1.2 | -2.8 | -6.1 |
| 1998 | -9.9 | -12.9 | -14.7 | -13.6 | -10.5 | -10.5 | -10.0 | -15.2 | -18.0 | -15.2 | -14.3 | -15.4 |
| 1999 | -13.1 | -11.1 | -5.0 | 10.2 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 9.3 | 17.7 | 22.6 | 21.2 | 21.9 | 30.1 |
| 2000 | 32.4 | 41.2 | 52.6 | 27.4 | 26.6 | 40.3 | 32.9 | 19.1 | 22.4 | 20.9 | 21.6 | 13.9 |
| 2001 | 12.4 | 8.1 | -5.8 | 3.8 | 14.4 | 2.2 | -7.8 | -5.1 | -2.7 | -12.6 | -21.5 | -24.9 |
| 2002 | -22.7 | -23.0 | -13.1 | -9.0 | -17.3 | -15.4 | -3.7 | -0.2 | -7.3 | 7.2 | 19.3 | 24.8 |
| 2003 | 29.3 | 43.1 | 37.6 | 15.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 14.5 | 21.0 | 9.8 | 5.5 | 6.8 |
| 2004 | 8.3 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 11.0 | 30.0 | 33.4 | 26.5 | 16.5 | 9.6 | 26.6 | 30.9 | 26.1 |
| 2005 | 14.3 | 14.7 | 16.8 | 24.2 | 10.3 | 6.9 | 19.5 | 31.3 | 54.8 | 37.0 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| 2006 | 27.4 | 20.6 | 17.0 | 21.5 | 33.4 | 34.0 | 29.6 | 19.6 | -11.9 | -18.3 | -4.2 | 6.4 |
| 2007 | -2.7 | -1.4 | 7.2 | 3.2 | 6.0 | 5.0 | -1.1 | -6.4 | 8.7 | 23.4 | 37.1 | 29.6 |
| 2008 | 34.5 | 32.7 | 26.0 | 20.7 | 20.8 | 32.8 | 37.9 | 35.6 | 31.7 | 12.0 | -29.4 | -43.1 |
| 2009 | -40.4 | -35.6 | -39.3 | -39.5 | -39.4 | -34.6 | -37.3 | -30.0 | -29.7 | -17.9 | 23.6 | 53.5 |
| 2010 | 51.3 | 36.8 | 41.4 | 38.3 | 27.0 | 3.9 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 9.5 | 7.3 | 13.8 |
| 2011 | 13.4 | 19.2 | 27.5 | 33.1 | 36.9 | 35.6 | 33.6 | 32.4 | 33.3 | 23.5 | 19.7 | 9.9 |
| 2012 | 9.7 | 12.6 | 9.0 | 3.2 | -4.0 | -4.3 | -5.5 | 1.8 | 6.8 | 9.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | -1.5 | 3.3 | -3.1 | -8.3 | -4.1 | 2.8 | 5.2 | -2.4 | -7.5 | -10.1 | -5.8 | -1.0 |
| 2014 | 0.1 | -8.1 | -4.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | -2.8 | -3.6 | -5.0 | -10.5 | -21.0 |
| 2015 | -35.4 | -32.8 | -29.2 | -31.7 | -25.0 | -23.3 | -22.3 | -23.3 | -29.6 | -27.8 | -24.1 | -19.7 |
| 2016 | -7.3 | -20.7 | -20.9 | -13.8 | -16.9 | -15.4 | -19.9 | -17.8 | -6.5 | -0.9 | 1.0 | 9.1 |
| 2017 | 20.3 | 30.7 | 19.9 | 14.3 | 5.8 | -0.4 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 19.3 | 10.8 | 16.5 | 10.7 |
| 2018 | 8.5 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 13.4 | 21.8 | 24.3 | 25.4 | 20.3 | 9.1 | 16.1 | 5.0 | -2.1 |
| 2019 | -10.1 | -9.1 | -0.7 | 3.1 | -0.2 | -5.4 | -3.3 | -7.1 | -8.2 | -7.3 | -1.2 | 7.9 |
| 2020 | 12.8 | 5.6 | -10.2 | -32.0 | -33.8 | -23.4 | -20.3 | -16.8 | -15.4 | -18.0 | -19.3 | -15.2 |
| 2021 | -8.6 | 1.5 | 22.5 | 49.6 | 56.2 | 45.1 | 41.8 | 42.7 | 42.1 | 49.6 | 58.1 | 49.6 |
| 2022 | 40.0 | 38.0 | 48.0 | 43.6 | 48.7 | 59.9 | 44.0 | 25.6 | 18.2 | 17.5 | 10.1 | -1.5 |
| 2023 | Avail Feb. 14 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Gasoline (all types) in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. CPI-All Urban Consumers.
Table: Historical Gasoline Prices (1978-2023)
Finally, this table shows average gasoline prices (per gallon) in the United States as surveyed and reported by the BLS:
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 0.631 | 0.629 | 0.629 | 0.631 | 0.637 | 0.645 | 0.655 | 0.663 | 0.669 | 0.671 | 0.676 | 0.685 | 0.652 |
| 1979 | 0.695 | 0.707 | 0.733 | 0.780 | 0.823 | 0.880 | 0.930 | 0.967 | 0.998 | 1.006 | 1.019 | 1.042 | 0.882 |
| 1980 | 1.110 | 1.186 | 1.230 | 1.242 | 1.244 | 1.246 | 1.247 | 1.243 | 1.231 | 1.223 | 1.222 | 1.231 | 1.221 |
| 1981 | 1.269 | 1.353 | 1.388 | 1.381 | 1.370 | 1.362 | 1.353 | 1.348 | 1.358 | 1.353 | 1.351 | 1.348 | 1.353 |
| 1982 | 1.341 | 1.318 | 1.268 | 1.210 | 1.224 | 1.296 | 1.318 | 1.310 | 1.292 | 1.280 | 1.268 | 1.244 | 1.281 |
| 1983 | 1.214 | 1.170 | 1.135 | 1.198 | 1.243 | 1.261 | 1.272 | 1.269 | 1.257 | 1.239 | 1.224 | 1.215 | 1.225 |
| 1984 | 1.200 | 1.193 | 1.194 | 1.211 | 1.221 | 1.214 | 1.197 | 1.184 | 1.189 | 1.195 | 1.193 | 1.179 | 1.198 |
| 1985 | 1.145 | 1.128 | 1.155 | 1.199 | 1.223 | 1.233 | 1.233 | 1.222 | 1.209 | 1.198 | 1.201 | 1.203 | 1.196 |
| 1986 | 1.190 | 1.119 | 0.983 | 0.895 | 0.927 | 0.958 | 0.895 | 0.848 | 0.864 | 0.837 | 0.827 | 0.830 | 0.931 |
| 1987 | 0.868 | 0.911 | 0.918 | 0.940 | 0.948 | 0.966 | 0.980 | 1.004 | 1.000 | 0.988 | 0.987 | 0.975 | 0.957 |
| 1988 | 0.947 | 0.928 | 0.920 | 0.946 | 0.970 | 0.971 | 0.984 | 1.004 | 0.992 | 0.976 | 0.972 | 0.953 | 0.964 |
| 1989 | 0.944 | 0.955 | 0.974 | 1.098 | 1.152 | 1.150 | 1.132 | 1.096 | 1.073 | 1.071 | 1.046 | 1.030 | 1.060 |
| 1990 | 1.090 | 1.086 | 1.076 | 1.096 | 1.114 | 1.140 | 1.139 | 1.246 | 1.347 | 1.431 | 1.432 | 1.410 | 1.217 |
| 1991 | 1.304 | 1.198 | 1.138 | 1.159 | 1.209 | 1.214 | 1.185 | 1.196 | 1.199 | 1.180 | 1.193 | 1.182 | 1.196 |
| 1992 | 1.135 | 1.117 | 1.122 | 1.143 | 1.197 | 1.239 | 1.237 | 1.221 | 1.222 | 1.219 | 1.223 | 1.201 | 1.190 |
| 1993 | 1.182 | 1.172 | 1.163 | 1.175 | 1.193 | 1.194 | 1.174 | 1.163 | 1.151 | 1.193 | 1.178 | 1.136 | 1.173 |
| 1994 | 1.109 | 1.114 | 1.109 | 1.128 | 1.143 | 1.169 | 1.199 | 1.243 | 1.237 | 1.212 | 1.222 | 1.203 | 1.174 |
| 1995 | 1.190 | 1.181 | 1.173 | 1.197 | 1.256 | 1.281 | 1.252 | 1.222 | 1.206 | 1.185 | 1.161 | 1.160 | 1.205 |
| 1996 | 1.186 | 1.181 | 1.219 | 1.305 | 1.378 | 1.354 | 1.328 | 1.298 | 1.293 | 1.287 | 1.308 | 1.318 | 1.288 |
| 1997 | 1.318 | 1.312 | 1.293 | 1.288 | 1.284 | 1.286 | 1.263 | 1.310 | 1.334 | 1.300 | 1.271 | 1.236 | 1.291 |
| 1998 | 1.186 | 1.137 | 1.097 | 1.106 | 1.146 | 1.148 | 1.134 | 1.108 | 1.091 | 1.099 | 1.086 | 1.046 | 1.115 |
| 1999 | 1.031 | 1.014 | 1.048 | 1.232 | 1.233 | 1.204 | 1.244 | 1.309 | 1.334 | 1.329 | 1.319 | 1.353 | 1.221 |
| 2000 | 1.356 | 1.422 | 1.594 | 1.561 | 1.552 | 1.666 | 1.642 | 1.559 | 1.635 | 1.613 | 1.608 | 1.544 | 1.563 |
| 2001 | 1.525 | 1.538 | 1.503 | 1.617 | 1.812 | 1.731 | 1.565 | 1.509 | 1.609 | 1.442 | 1.324 | 1.200 | 1.531 |
| 2002 | 1.209 | 1.210 | 1.324 | 1.493 | 1.508 | 1.489 | 1.496 | 1.508 | 1.507 | 1.535 | 1.534 | 1.477 | 1.441 |
| 2003 | 1.557 | 1.686 | 1.791 | 1.704 | 1.587 | 1.558 | 1.567 | 1.671 | 1.771 | 1.646 | 1.578 | 1.538 | 1.638 |
| 2004 | 1.635 | 1.715 | 1.809 | 1.875 | 2.050 | 2.083 | 1.982 | 1.941 | 1.934 | 2.072 | 2.053 | 1.926 | 1.923 |
| 2005 | 1.866 | 1.960 | 2.107 | 2.325 | 2.257 | 2.218 | 2.357 | 2.548 | 2.969 | 2.830 | 2.387 | 2.230 | 2.338 |
| 2006 | 2.359 | 2.354 | 2.444 | 2.801 | 2.993 | 2.963 | 3.046 | 3.033 | 2.637 | 2.319 | 2.287 | 2.380 | 2.635 |
| 2007 | 2.321 | 2.333 | 2.639 | 2.909 | 3.176 | 3.100 | 3.013 | 2.833 | 2.839 | 2.843 | 3.118 | 3.069 | 2.849 |
| 2008 | 3.096 | 3.083 | 3.307 | 3.491 | 3.813 | 4.115 | 4.142 | 3.838 | 3.749 | 3.225 | 2.208 | 1.742 | 3.317 |
| 2009 | 1.838 | 1.979 | 2.000 | 2.107 | 2.314 | 2.681 | 2.594 | 2.677 | 2.626 | 2.613 | 2.709 | 2.671 | 2.401 |
| 2010 | 2.779 | 2.709 | 2.829 | 2.906 | 2.915 | 2.783 | 2.783 | 2.795 | 2.754 | 2.843 | 2.899 | 3.031 | 2.836 |
| 2011 | 3.139 | 3.215 | 3.594 | 3.863 | 3.982 | 3.753 | 3.703 | 3.680 | 3.664 | 3.521 | 3.475 | 3.329 | 3.577 |
| 2012 | 3.447 | 3.622 | 3.918 | 3.976 | 3.839 | 3.602 | 3.502 | 3.759 | 3.908 | 3.839 | 3.542 | 3.386 | 3.695 |
| 2013 | 3.407 | 3.748 | 3.792 | 3.647 | 3.682 | 3.693 | 3.687 | 3.658 | 3.616 | 3.434 | 3.310 | 3.333 | 3.584 |
| 2014 | 3.378 | 3.422 | 3.590 | 3.717 | 3.745 | 3.750 | 3.690 | 3.540 | 3.463 | 3.241 | 2.945 | 2.618 | 3.425 |
| 2015 | 2.170 | 2.308 | 2.544 | 2.545 | 2.832 | 2.889 | 2.893 | 2.745 | 2.463 | 2.357 | 2.249 | 2.125 | 2.510 |
| 2016 | 2.034 | 1.833 | 2.021 | 2.196 | 2.324 | 2.422 | 2.287 | 2.218 | 2.269 | 2.304 | 2.246 | 2.289 | 2.204 |
| 2017 | 2.409 | 2.360 | 2.386 | 2.479 | 2.448 | 2.400 | 2.344 | 2.436 | 2.688 | 2.545 | 2.608 | 2.521 | 2.469 |
| 2018 | 2.596 | 2.632 | 2.631 | 2.795 | 2.963 | 2.970 | 2.930 | 2.919 | 2.930 | 2.945 | 2.733 | 2.479 | 2.794 |
| 2019 | 2.352 | 2.412 | 2.620 | 2.894 | 2.963 | 2.814 | 2.836 | 2.716 | 2.694 | 2.741 | 2.687 | 2.652 | 2.698 |
| 2020 | 2.631 | 2.530 | 2.334 | 1.946 | 1.946 | 2.141 | 2.243 | 2.245 | 2.260 | 2.228 | 2.159 | 2.235 | 2.242 |
| 2021 | 2.391 | 2.559 | 2.856 | 2.907 | 3.041 | 3.245 | 3.326 | 3.351 | 3.361 | 3.477 | 3.576 | 3.505 | 3.133 |
| 2022 | 3.500 | 3.675 | 4.401 | 4.369 | 4.695 | 5.149 | 4.768 | 4.205 | 3.990 | 4.130 | 3.958 | 3.459 | 4.192 |
| 2023 | Avail Feb. 14 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Gasoline, all types, per gallon/3.785 liters in U.S. city average, average price, not seasonally adjusted.