Gas Prices Under Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
Under Gerald Ford, the U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) went from $0.54 to $0.61 a gallon, averaged $0.58 and peaked at $0.61 (1976). 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.
1974
1976 · last full year in office
Start to end
Mean over 3 years
Pump: 1976 · adj.: 1974
Pump: 1974 · adj.: 1976
Gas prices during Ford’s term
The national average for gasoline (all grades) from 1974 to 1977. 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 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | $0.54 | $3.53 |
| 1975 | $0.58 | $3.47 |
| 1976 | $0.61 | $3.43 |
Ford, 1974–1977: controls extended and unleaded fuel arrives
Gerald Ford took office on August 9, 1974, after the Arab oil embargo had ended but with crude oil near the higher price it reached during the embargo. Both EIA annual retail series show the U.S. average rising in every year of the term, in smaller steps than before: the total increase from 1974 to 1977 was less than a fifth, against more than a third in 1974 alone. The site holds only annual averages before 2000, so no weekly high or low exists for this term and no dollar figures are quoted here.
Gasoline stayed under federal price and allocation rules for the whole term. On December 22, 1975, Ford signed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which extended oil price controls into 1979, mandated fuel economy standards for new cars, and authorized a Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The fuel itself changed in these years as well. Beginning with 1975 models, passenger cars and light trucks were built with catalytic converters that required lead-free gasoline, and the EPA was already phasing down lead under standards first issued in 1973. The EIA’s separate retail price series for unleaded regular starts in 1976, when unleaded averaged a few cents a gallon more than leaded.
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.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, Timeline of Events: 1971 to 1980
- Federal Reserve History, “Oil Shock of 1973–74”
- U.S. EPA, “EPA Takes Final Step in Phaseout of Leaded Gasoline” (January 29, 1996)
- U.S. EIA, Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.4: Retail Motor Gasoline and On-Highway Diesel Fuel Prices
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 Ford, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Gerald Ford?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Gerald Ford's term was $3.53 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (1974). The highest at-the-pump price was $0.61 (1976). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Gerald Ford took office?
- At the start of the term (1974) the U.S. average for gasoline (all grades) was $0.54 per gallon, or $3.53 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under Gerald Ford?
- From the start of the term to its end (1976), the pump price went from $0.54 to $0.61 a gallon — a change of +$0.07 (+12.0%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $3.53 to $3.43, −3.0%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Gerald Ford?
- In inflation-adjusted terms the average price fell 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 Gerald Ford,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/ford. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.