Gas Prices in 1979
inflation-adjusted (CPI-U)
In 1979, gasoline (all grades) averaged $0.89 a gallon across the U.S., which is $3.95 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 1979 ranks in the 1970–2025 record
The 13th-most-expensive year on record — the 44th-cheapest of 56 years.
The 46th-highest pump price on record — before adjusting for inflation.
1979 is an annual-average year
This site holds weekly and monthly U.S. retail prices from 2000 on, so for 1979 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.
1979 vs. the years on either side
1979: the Iranian Revolution and a second oil shock
The average price rose 35.7% in 1979, from $0.66 to $0.89 a gallon. After inflation the increase was 22.0%, to $3.95 in 2025 dollars, above the 1974 level.
The Iranian Revolution cut Iran’s oil exports sharply at the start of the year. According to the Federal Reserve, oil prices more than doubled between April 1979 and April 1980. As in 1974, federal allocation rules and price controls turned the supply loss into shortages at stations in some regions, with long lines during the spring and summer.
Policy began to move away from controls. On April 5, 1979, President Carter announced that price controls on domestic crude oil would be phased out between June 1, 1979, and September 30, 1981, and proposed a windfall profit tax on the resulting increase in producer revenue. In August Paul Volcker became chairman of the Federal Reserve and began raising interest rates to bring down inflation, which the Fed reports reached about 9 percent by the end of 1979. Gasoline prices rose again in 1980.
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 1979, answered
- What was the average price of gas in 1979?
- The U.S. average price of gasoline (all grades) in 1979 was $0.89 per gallon — about $3.95 in 2025 dollars after adjusting for inflation, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
- How does 1979 rank for gas prices in U.S. history?
- Adjusted for inflation, 1979 was the 13th-most-expensive year for gasoline out of the 56 years on record (1970–2025). In raw at-the-pump dollars it ranks 46th.
- Were gas prices higher in 1979 than in 1978?
- Adjusted for inflation, gasoline (all grades) was more expensive in 1979 than in 1978, up 22.0% year over year ($3.24 → $3.95 in 2025 dollars).
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. 1979 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 1979
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Download: U.S. national gas prices by year, 1970–present (CSV) · Weekly U.S. national gas prices, 2000–present (CSV).
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Cite as: US Gas Gauge, “Gas Prices in 1979,” usgasgauge.com/gas-prices/history/1979. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.