Gas Prices Under Richard Nixon (1970–1974)
Under Richard Nixon, the U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) went from $0.36 to $0.39 a gallon, averaged $0.37 and peaked at $0.39 (1973). 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.
1970
1973 · last full year in office
Start to end
Mean over 4 years
Pump: 1973 · adj.: 1970
Pump: 1970 · adj.: 1972
Gas prices during Nixon’s term
The national average for gasoline (all grades) from 1970 to 1974. 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 $ |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | $0.36 | $2.96 |
| 1971 | $0.36 | $2.89 |
| 1972 | $0.36 | $2.78 |
| 1973 | $0.39 | $2.81 |
Nixon, 1969–1974: wage-price controls and the 1973 embargo
The site’s national price series begins in 1970, a year into Richard Nixon’s first term, and before 2000 it holds one annual average per year, so this section describes the direction of prices rather than quoting them. In both EIA annual retail series, the State Energy Data System average and the Monthly Energy Review price for leaded regular, the U.S. average changed little from 1970 through 1972, rose modestly in 1973, and then climbed by more than a third in 1974, the year Nixon resigned on August 9.
Federal controls applied to gasoline for most of the term. On August 15, 1971, Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages and prices, the first peacetime use of such controls. On October 17, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries declared an oil embargo, applied to the United States from October 19 and lifted in March 1974. Crude oil rose from $2.90 a barrel before the embargo to $11.65 in January 1974, and that higher level remained after the embargo ended.
The Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, signed November 27, 1973, directed mandatory federal allocation of crude oil and refined products, including gasoline, at prices set by regulation, and a Federal Energy Office replaced the Energy Policy Office on December 4, 1973 to run the program. 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, “Nixon Ends Convertibility of U.S. Dollars to Gold and Announces Wage/Price Controls”
- Federal Reserve History, “Oil Shock of 1973–74”
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, Timeline of Events: 1971 to 1980
- Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-159 (87 Stat. 627, November 27, 1973)
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 Nixon, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Richard Nixon?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Richard Nixon's term was $2.96 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (1970). The highest at-the-pump price was $0.39 (1973). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Richard Nixon took office?
- At the start of the term (1970) the U.S. average for gasoline (all grades) was $0.36 per gallon, or $2.96 in constant 2025 dollars. (The national series begins in 1970, so this is the earliest available figure.)
- How much did gas prices change under Richard Nixon?
- From the start of the term to its end (1973), the pump price went from $0.36 to $0.39 a gallon — a change of +$0.03 (+8.8%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $2.96 to $2.81, −4.9%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Richard Nixon?
- 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 Richard Nixon,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/nixon. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.