Gas Prices Under Joe Biden (2021–2025)
Under Joe Biden, the U.S. average price of regular gasoline went from $2.39 to $3.04 a gallon, averaged $3.46 and peaked at $5.01 (June 13, 2022). The cards below also give each figure in 2025 dollars. These figures describe what prices were during the term — they do not measure the effect of any president’s policies.
January 25, 2021
January 13, 2025 · last week in office
Start to end
Mean over 208 weeks
Pump: June 13, 2022 · adj.: June 13, 2022
Pump: January 25, 2021 · adj.: January 25, 2021
Gas prices during Biden’s term
The national average for regular gasoline from 2021 to 2025. Toggle between the price at the pump and constant 2025 dollars.
| Year | At the pump | In 2025 $ | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $3.05 | $3.62 | 49 |
| 2022 | $3.95 | $4.35 | 52 |
| 2023 | $3.52 | $3.72 | 52 |
| 2024 | $3.30 | $3.39 | 53 |
| 2025 | $3.05 | $3.08 | 2 |
Biden, 2021–2025: the 2022 record and Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales
The national average was $2.39 in the week of January 25, 2021, the first week of Joe Biden’s term and also its low, and $3.04 in the week of January 13, 2025, the last. It averaged $3.46 over the 208 weeks of the term. Prices rose through 2021 as driving recovered from the pandemic.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 raised crude oil prices, and low gasoline inventories in the spring added to the increase. The national average went from $3.53 in the week of February 21, 2022 to the term high of $5.01 in the week of June 13, 2022, the highest weekly figure in the EIA series before adjusting for inflation. In 2022 the Department of Energy carried out an emergency sale of 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, announced in March, as part of coordinated releases with other members of the International Energy Agency.
Prices fell in the second half of 2022 as refinery output rose and demand eased, reaching $3.09 in the week of December 26. U.S. retail gasoline averaged about 20¢ less in 2024 than in 2023, and the term ended below its 2022 levels. Presidents have limited control over pump prices, which follow crude oil, refining and tax conditions; the site’s explainer sets out what a president can and cannot change.
Sources: prices and high/low weeks are EIA weekly retail data (regular, all formulations) from our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: Retail gasoline prices rose across the United States in 2021 as driving increased
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: U.S. retail gasoline prices rose in summer but ended 2022 lower than start of 2022
- U.S. Department of Energy, History of SPR Releases
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: In 2024, U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged about 20 cents less than in 2023
The pump price combines the cost of crude oil, refining margins, distribution and marketing, and federal and state taxes. How each part works, and which of them federal policy reaches, is covered in the explainer on whether the President controls gas prices.
Gas prices under Biden, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Joe Biden?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Joe Biden's term was $5.47 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (June 13, 2022). The highest at-the-pump price was $5.01 (June 13, 2022). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Joe Biden took office?
- At the start of the term (January 25, 2021) the U.S. average for regular gasoline was $2.39 per gallon, or $2.93 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under Joe Biden?
- From the start of the term to its end (January 13, 2025), the pump price went from $2.39 to $3.04 a gallon — a change of +$0.65 (+27.2%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $2.93 to $3.07, +4.8%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Joe Biden?
- In inflation-adjusted terms the average price rose over the term (at the pump it rose). This reflects what prices were during the term and is not a measure of any president's policies — gasoline prices are driven mainly by global oil markets, which moved for reasons largely outside any president's control.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, national average retail price of regular gasoline. Figures use EIA's weekly national series; the term covers the weeks from Inauguration Day up to the successor's, so its start and end are the first and last weeks in office. Inflation adjustment uses the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), constant 2025 dollars. Party is listed as a matter of record; this page does not attribute price changes to any president or policy. How these figures are built.
Years in this term
Use this data
Download: U.S. national gas prices by year, 1970–present (CSV) · Weekly U.S. national gas prices, 2000–present (CSV).
Column definitions, coverage and every file: gas price data. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit.
Cite as: US Gas Gauge, “Gas Prices Under Joe Biden,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/biden. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.