Gas Prices Under Donald Trump, First Term (2017–2021)
Under Donald Trump, the U.S. average price of regular gasoline went from $2.33 to $2.38 a gallon, averaged $2.48 and peaked at $2.96 (May 28, 2018).
January 23, 2017
January 18, 2021 · last week in office
Start to end
Mean over 209 weeks
Pump: May 28, 2018 · adj.: May 28, 2018
Pump: April 27, 2020 · adj.: April 27, 2020
Gas prices during Trump’s term
| Year | At the pump | In 2025 $ | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $2.42 | $3.18 | 49 |
| 2018 | $2.72 | $3.49 | 53 |
| 2019 | $2.60 | $3.28 | 52 |
| 2020 | $2.17 | $2.70 | 52 |
| 2021 | $2.32 | $2.84 | 3 |
Trump, first term, 2017–2021: a narrow range, then the pandemic low
The national average was $2.33 in the week of January 23, 2017 and $2.38 in the week of January 18, 2021, and averaged $2.48 over the 209 weeks of Donald Trump’s first term. For most of the term prices moved in a narrower range than in the preceding decade. The term high was $2.96 in the week of May 28, 2018. On September 14, 2019, attacks on Saudi oil facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais briefly cut Saudi production, and crude and gasoline prices rose for a short period.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the largest change. After the national emergency declaration in mid-March 2020, travel and gasoline demand fell, and vehicle travel in April reached its lowest monthly level on record. On April 20, 2020, the front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract traded below zero for the first time, as storage at Cushing, Oklahoma filled. The term low was $1.77 in the week of April 27, 2020, the lowest since early 2016. Prices recovered only partly by the end of the term.
A federal rule that touched gasoline directly was the EPA’s June 2019 rule allowing gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to be sold year-round rather than eight months of the year. 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: Saudi Arabia crude oil production outage affects global crude oil and gasoline prices (2019)
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: Low liquidity and limited available storage pushed WTI crude oil futures prices below zero (2020)
- U.S. EIA, Today in Energy: U.S. average gasoline prices and vehicle travel fell to multiyear lows in 2020
- U.S. EPA, Final Rulemaking: Modifications to Fuel Regulations to Provide Flexibility for E15 (2019)
Yearly Highs and Lows in Constant Dollars
The lowest weekly price in 2018 was $2.27 in the week of December 31, 2018, and the highest was $2.96 in the week of May 28, 2018. In 2019 the highest weekly price was $2.90 in the week of May 6, 2019, and the lowest was $2.24 in the week of January 7, 2019.
In 2020 the highest weekly price was $2.58 in the week of January 6, 2020, and the lowest was $1.77 in the week of April 27, 2020.
In constant 2025 dollars, the price in the week of January 23, 2017 was $3.08, and the price in the week of January 18, 2021 was $2.92. The constant-dollar price fell 15.8¢ (5.1%) from the start to the end of the term, while the price at the pump rose 5.3¢ (2.3%). The average over the term was $3.16 in constant dollars, and the highest constant-dollar weekly price was $3.81 in 2018.
The term ran from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021. The previous president on this site is Barack Obama, and the next is Joe Biden.
Gas prices under Trump, answered
- What was the highest gas price under Donald Trump?
- Adjusted for inflation, the most expensive gasoline reached during Donald Trump's term was $3.81 per gallon in constant 2025 dollars (May 28, 2018). The highest at-the-pump price was $2.96 (May 28, 2018). Short-term peaks generally tracked moves in the global crude oil market.
- What did gas cost when Donald Trump took office?
- At the start of the term (January 23, 2017) the U.S. average for regular gasoline was $2.33 per gallon, or $3.08 in constant 2025 dollars.
- How much did gas prices change under Donald Trump?
- From the start of the term to its end (January 18, 2021), the pump price went from $2.33 to $2.38 a gallon — a change of +$0.05 (+2.3%). Adjusted for inflation it went from $3.08 to $2.92, −5.1%.
- Did gasoline get more or less expensive under Donald Trump?
- 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: EIA, weekly U.S. regular price (term boundaries: the week nearest Inauguration Day). Constant 2025 dollars (CPI-U). Party is listed as a matter of record; the page attributes no price change to any president or policy (see whether the President controls gas prices). 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 Donald Trump, First Term,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/by-president/trump-first-term. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.