Donald Trump took over the presidency as gas prices in the country continued to climb. On Tuesday, his first full day back in office, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas increased slightly to $3.126 per gallon, according to AAA. The cost is the result of gradual increases over the last month during the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Tuesday’s price was more expensive than a year ago, when a gallon of regular gas was $3.077 per gallon. It’s also a cost higher than what the average price for a gallon of regular gas was during his first month in office in 2017. Then, a gallon of regular gas was $2.349, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Fuel costs were a significant problem for people in the country during Biden’s term. The average price of regular gas was $2.476 per gallon between 2017 and 2020, during Trump’s first term. Costs quickly rose to over $3 per gallon by June 2021, less than six months after Biden’s inauguration.
Gas prices peaked at $4.929 in June 2022, the highest national average cost for a gallon of regular gas in the nation’s history. They gradually decreased the next month but fluctuated between 2022 and 2024. By April 2024, gas prices reached a high for the year before starting to fall in May. Over the next eight months, the cost of gas eventually dropped to $3.01 per gallon by mid-December. However, since then, prices have gradually increased.
While at $3.126 per gallon nationally, gas prices vary across the country, depending on the state, ranging from $2.685 to $4.538 per gallon. The state with the cheapest gas in the country is Mississippi, at $2.685 per gallon. Meanwhile, Hawaii is the state with the highest average price for a gallon of regular gas in the country at $4.538.
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In the capital region, prices have soared recently, with people in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., paying more at the pumps this month than in December 2024. Virginia, which had an average price of under $3 per gallon last week, is now up to $3.072, according to AAA. Despite the increase, it is the state with the cheapest gas in the area. Delaware was once the state with the cheapest gas along the East Coast. Now, the First State has an average cost of $3.239 per gallon for gas.
Maryland has the highest gas prices in the region, at $3.35 per gallon. The price was $3.176 a week ago, and a month ago, gas in the state only cost $2.90. In Washington, D.C., gas prices on Tuesday were slightly lower at $3.274.
