Gas Prices in 1970
all grades, at the pump in 1970
First year on record.
inflation-adjusted (CPI-U)
In 1970, gasoline (all grades) averaged $0.36 a gallon across the U.S., which is $2.96 in 2025 dollars after inflation. For years before 2000 this comes from EIA’s State Energy Data System (all-grades motor gasoline) and is approximate; from 2000 on it is the average of EIA’s weekly regular-grade retail prices (how the figures are built).
How 1970 ranks in the 1970–2025 record
The 33rd-most-expensive year on record — the 24th-cheapest of 56 years.
The lowest pump price on record — before adjusting for inflation.
1970 is an annual-average year
This site holds weekly and monthly U.S. retail prices from 2000 on, so for 1970 only an annual figure is shown — there is no intra-year weekly high and low to chart. The value above is EIA’s State Energy Data System average for all grades of motor gasoline and is approximate.
1970 vs. the years on either side
No year on record on this side.
adjusted for inflation · +1.7% at the pump
1971 averaged $0.36 ($2.89 in 2025 $)
1970: the start of the record, and the peak in U.S. oil output
1970 is the first year in this record. The U.S. average for all grades of gasoline was $0.36 a gallon, about $2.96 in 2025 dollars. Before 2000 the EIA figure used here is an annual average across grades, so there are no weekly highs or lows for the year.
The year marked a turning point on the supply side. U.S. crude oil production reached 9.6 million barrels a day in 1970, its highest level until 2018, according to the EIA. Prices for crude and gasoline were still set largely by domestic supply: a federal import quota, in place since 1959, limited foreign oil, and the Texas Railroad Commission still restricted how much Texas wells could produce.
The federal gasoline tax was 4¢ a gallon, a rate set in 1959. The same year Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1970, which led to the emissions rules that later required catalytic converters and unleaded gasoline in new cars from the 1975 model year. Measured in 2025 dollars, gasoline in 1970 cost more than in any of the next three years, because the pump price rose more slowly than general inflation until 1973.
Sources: the annual price is the EIA State Energy Data System all-grades U.S. average in our database (approximate before 2000); other facts are from the sources listed here.
U.S. gas prices in 1970, answered
- What was the average price of gas in 1970?
- The U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) in 1970 was $0.36 per gallon — about $2.96 in 2025 dollars after adjusting for inflation, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
- How does 1970 rank for gas prices in U.S. history?
- Adjusted for inflation, 1970 was the 33rd-most-expensive year for gasoline out of the 56 years on record (1970–2025). In raw at-the-pump dollars it ranks 56th.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. 1970 is from EIA’s State Energy Data System: the average price of all grades of motor gasoline, taxes included, the series this site holds for years before 2000. It is a different measure from the regular-grade retail price used from 2000 on, so compare years on either side of 2000 with care. Inflation adjustment uses the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), constant 2025 dollars.
More about 1970
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 in 1970,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/history/1970. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.