Gas Prices Under Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
Under Jimmy Carter, the U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) went from $0.64 to $1.23 a gallon, averaged $0.85 and peaked at $1.23 (1980). 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.
1977
1980 · last full year in office
Start to end
Mean over 4 years
Pump: 1980 · adj.: 1980
Pump: 1977 · adj.: 1978
Gas prices during Carter’s term
The national average for gasoline (all grades) from 1977 to 1981. Toggle between the price at the pump and constant 2025 dollars. Before 2000 only an annual national average is available, so this shows one point per year.
| Year | At the pump | In 2025 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | $0.64 | $3.41 |
| 1978 | $0.66 | $3.24 |
| 1979 | $0.89 | $3.95 |
| 1980 | $1.23 | $4.81 |
Carter, 1977–1981: the Iranian Revolution and phased decontrol
Jimmy Carter’s term began with gasoline under federal price controls and ended with those controls being phased out. In both EIA annual retail series the U.S. average roughly doubled between 1977 and 1981, and most of the rise came in 1979 and 1980: the increase from 1978 to 1980 alone was more than 80 percent. The site’s data for these years are annual averages, so this section gives the direction rather than dollar figures.
The main market event was the Iranian Revolution. The Shah left Iran on January 16, 1979, and Iranian oil output had fallen by 4.8 million barrels a day, about 7 percent of world production, by January 1979. Crude oil prices began rising quickly in mid-1979 and more than doubled between April 1979 and April 1980. Some of Iran’s lost production returned in the following years, but its output did not regain its 1977 level.
On April 5, 1979, Carter announced the gradual decontrol of domestic crude oil prices, to run from June 1, 1979 to September 30, 1981, and proposed a tax on the resulting revenue; he signed the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act on April 2, 1980. 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: movements before 2000 compare the EIA State Energy Data System annual average in our database with the EIA Monthly Energy Review retail series, and figures from 2000 on are EIA weekly retail data from our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
- Federal Reserve History, “Oil Shock of 1978–79”
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, Timeline of Events: 1971 to 1980
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: Effects of crude oil supply disruptions (Iran 1978–79, Iraq–Kuwait 1990)
- Congressional Research Service, “The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of the 1980s” (RL33305)
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 Carter, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Jimmy Carter?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Jimmy Carter's term was $4.81 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (1980). The highest at-the-pump price was $1.23 (1980). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Jimmy Carter took office?
- At the start of the term (1977) the U.S. average for gasoline (all grades) was $0.64 per gallon, or $3.41 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under Jimmy Carter?
- From the start of the term to its end (1980), the pump price went from $0.64 to $1.23 a gallon — a change of +$0.59 (+91.8%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $3.41 to $4.81, +41.1%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Jimmy Carter?
- 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 motor gasoline, all grades (State Energy Data System). Before 2000, figures use EIA's annual national series (one point per year); a year counts for the president in office on December 31, so the term's end is its last full year and the successor's first year is not included. 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 Jimmy Carter,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/carter. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.