Trump vs. Biden Gas Prices
What the U.S. average price of regular gasoline actually did during each term — start, end, average, high and low, in both nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars.
Presidents have limited influence over gas prices. Retail gasoline is priced off global crude oil, which is driven by OPEC+ production decisions, worldwide supply and demand, and geopolitics — plus refining capacity, seasonal demand and taxes. Those forces sit largely outside any president’s direct, short-term control, and prices have risen and fallen under presidents of both parties for reasons that had little to do with who held office.
So this page reports what prices did during each term, not what any president did to prices. It does not name a winner, because the data does not support one. What a president can and can’t actually do →
The three terms side by side
Donald Trump has served two non-consecutive terms, so a straight “Trump vs. Biden” comparison would mean picking one of them — and that choice would decide the answer. All three are shown, in order, on the same measures.
Donald Trump (first term)
- Start
- $2.33$3.07 in 2025$
- End
- $2.38$2.92 in 2025$
- Term average
- $2.48$3.15 in 2025$
- Term high
- $2.96$3.80 in 2025$
- Term low
- $1.77$2.23 in 2025$
- Change over term
- +2.3%−5.1% in 2025$
Largest move: The 2020 COVID-19 demand collapse.
Full detail for this term →Joe Biden
- Start
- $2.38$2.92 in 2025$
- End
- $3.11$3.14 in 2025$
- Term average
- $3.46$3.76 in 2025$
- Term high
- $5.01$5.46 in 2025$
- Term low
- $2.39$2.93 in 2025$
- Change over term
- +30.7%+7.6% in 2025$
Largest move: The 2022 crude oil spike.
Full detail for this term →Donald Trump (second term)
- Start
- $3.11$3.14 in 2025$
- Latest
- $4.32$4.16 in 2025$
- Term average
- $3.39$3.34 in 2025$
- Term high
- $4.50$4.34 in 2025$
- Term low
- $2.78$2.74 in 2025$
- Change over term
- +38.9%+32.6% in 2025$
Largest move: The 2026 Middle East supply disruption.
Full detail for this term →Start, end, average, high and low
Nominal is the price at the pump at the time. Constant 2025 dollars adjust for inflation, which is the only way to compare years fairly — nominal figures alone make every earlier term look cheaper simply because dollars bought more.
| Term | Start | End | Average | High | Low | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017–2021 | $2.33 $3.07 in 2025$ | $2.38 $2.92 in 2025$ | $2.48 $3.15 in 2025$ | $2.96 $3.80 in 2025$ | $1.77 $2.23 in 2025$ | +2.3% −5.1% real |
2021–2025 | $2.38 $2.92 in 2025$ | $3.11 $3.14 in 2025$ | $3.46 $3.76 in 2025$ | $5.01 $5.46 in 2025$ | $2.39 $2.93 in 2025$ | +30.7% +7.6% real |
2025–present | $3.11 $3.14 in 2025$ | $4.32 $4.16 in 2025$ | $3.39 $3.34 in 2025$ | $4.50 $4.34 in 2025$ | $2.78 $2.74 in 2025$ | +38.9% +32.6% real |
The biggest swing in each term, and what drove it
Each of these terms contains one move large enough to dominate its averages — and in each case the cause was a global event in the oil market. Every term gets the same treatment here, because explaining one administration’s swing and not another’s would be its own kind of spin.
The term's low point came in April 2020, when pandemic lockdowns cut global fuel demand so sharply that crude briefly traded below zero. The fall reflects a worldwide collapse in demand, not a policy decision.
Gas prices in 2020 →The term's high came in June 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that followed pushed global crude sharply higher. The rise tracked a global oil market shock, not a policy decision.
Gas prices in 2022 →Prices rose through 2026 as a Middle East supply disruption constrained the Strait of Hormuz and lifted global crude. As in the other terms, the move originated in the world oil market rather than in Washington.
Why gas prices rose in 2026 →Method, and the things that could otherwise skew it
Shared term boundaries
A term’s end price and the next term’s start price are the same weekly figure, taken at the handoff. Using different dates for the outgoing and incoming president would open an artificial gap that could be credited or blamed either way.
Both bases, always
Every figure appears in nominal dollars and in constant 2025 dollars. Quoting only nominal prices makes older terms look cheap; quoting only adjusted prices does the reverse. Showing one without the other is the most common way this comparison gets rigged.
Weekly resolution
All three terms fall after 2000, so each is measured on EIA’s weekly national retail series for regular gasoline — the same resolution for every term, with no mixing of weekly and annual data.
One term is still in progress
Donald Trump (second term) is ongoing, so its figures cover January 20, 2025 to September 14, 2026 — a partial term. Its average, high, low and change are not directly comparable with a completed four-year term, and will move as more data arrives.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly retail gasoline series (U.S. average, regular grade, all formulations). Inflation adjustment uses the BLS CPI-U. Figures match the individual term pages exactly — this page and those are built from the same data.
Asked and answered, without a verdict
- Were gas prices higher under Trump or Biden?
- It depends entirely on which term and which measure you use, which is why this page shows every term on both bases. Donald Trump (first term) (2017–2021): averaged $2.48 at the pump, $3.15 in constant 2025 dollars; Joe Biden (2021–2025): averaged $3.46 at the pump, $3.76 in constant 2025 dollars; Donald Trump (second term) (2025–present): averaged $3.39 at the pump, $3.34 in constant 2025 dollars. Comparing nominal prices across different years also compares different dollars, so the inflation-adjusted figures are the more meaningful ones.
- Did Trump or Biden cause gas prices to change?
- Neither, to any large degree. Retail gasoline prices are set mostly by the global price of crude oil — driven by OPEC+ production decisions, worldwide supply and demand, and geopolitics — plus refining capacity, seasonal demand and taxes. The largest moves in each of these terms line up with global events: a pandemic demand collapse in 2020, a crude oil spike after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and a Middle East supply disruption in 2026.
- What was the highest gas price under each president?
- Donald Trump (first term): $2.96 the week of May 28, 2018 ($3.80 in constant 2025 dollars). Joe Biden: $5.01 the week of June 13, 2022 ($5.46 in constant 2025 dollars). Donald Trump (second term): $4.50 the week of May 11, 2026 ($4.34 in constant 2025 dollars).
- Why does this page show two Trump terms?
- Because Donald Trump has served two non-consecutive terms, and comparing "Trump" to Biden would mean choosing one of them — a choice that would itself decide the answer. Showing every term on identical measures avoids putting a thumb on the scale in either direction.
- Why do the terms share a price at the boundary?
- A term's end price and the next term's start price are the same weekly figure, measured at the handoff. Using a different date for the outgoing and incoming president would create an artificial gap that could be attributed to either of them.