The national average price of gas has fluctuated widely in 2026, ranging from a low of $2.79 per gallon in January to $4.562 per gallon in May. The most recent uptick in prices marks the third time the national average price for a gallon of regular gas has eclipsed $4 per gallon, which is a record, as the Washington Examiner previously reported. The recent fluctuation in gas prices has been linked to geopolitics in the Middle East, specifically the military conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States, and turmoil involving the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, gas prices had decreased to its lowest national average since March. The relief at the pumps was short lived however as the continuing geopolitical tension in the Middle East between Iran and the U.S. led to gas prices to once again rise above the $4 per gallon pricing threshold. The rise in gas prices has affected public approval for President Donald Trump who campaigned on lowering gas prices and delivered on it during his first year in office, before the conflict with Iran began. 

Trump spoke at an event in Las Vegas earlier this month and addressed the increase in fuel costs. He continued promoting his prediction that the rise is only temporary and that once the military conflict has ended, gas prices would drop again. However, the president has not specified when that would be. In the past he has given multiple answers regarding the duration of the war. He originally predicted it would only be four weeks, then six weeks. He has also asserted that it would take as long as it was necessary, stating the main objective is to deprive Iran of having a nuclear weapon.

“As soon as the situation with Iran ends, oil is going to go down, and we will have completed something in such a short amount of time, that is a miracle,” Trump said on Aug. 5.

“When oil goes down, and it’s going to go down very rapidly, and is already happening,” Trump said about fluctuating gas prices during the conflict. “We may have to send it up again. We may have to — you know what happens when we send it up. But we don’t have to. But when the oil and gasoline go down, everything else goes down.”

Despite the massive fluctuations in gas prices this year and the recent string of increases, one thing that has remained constant is that fuel costs vary throughout the country. The states with the highest gas prices are on the West Coast, whereas the states with the lowest gas prices are located in the Midwest and South.

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Indiana is once again the state with the cheapest gas prices in the nation. The Hoosier State has a statewide average for regular gas of $3.55 per gallon. Next, is Texas, at almost ten cents per gallon more expensive at $3.65. This is followed by Tennessee with an average of $3.6658 per gallon, and then Mississippi at $3.6662 per gallon. South Carolina is next at $3.685 per gallon.

California remains the state with the highest fuel costs in the country with a statewide average of $5.59 per gallon. Next is Hawaii at $5.43 per gallon. This is followed by Washington state with an average fuel cost of $5.25 per gallon. Alaska is next at $4.82 per gallon followed by Nevada at $4.78 per gallon.