What was the average US gas price when Trump took office in 2017?
Executive summary
The national average retail price for regular gasoline around the time President Trump took office in January 2017 was roughly in the $2.35–$2.41 per gallon range, with the Energy Information Administration reporting a 2017 annual average of $2.41/gal and weekly/monthly surveys showing prices near $2.36–$2.37/gal in mid-to-late January 2017 [1] [2] [3].
1. Context: which “average” matters and what the sources show
As with any commodity, “the average price” can mean a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual figure, and federal and private trackers differ slightly; the EIA’s annual summary lists U.S. regular retail gasoline at $2.41 per gallon for all of 2017 [1], AAA’s national tracking recorded about $2.37 per gallon at the end of January 2017 [3], and the EIA’s weekly survey for mid‑January 2017 shows the national average near $2.36 per gallon [2], so the practical answer depends on whether the reader wants the specific inauguration‑week number or the broader 2017 average.
2. Pinpointing January 2017 around inauguration week
Contemporaneous weekly and monthly trackers place the pump price in the mid‑$2.30s the week President Trump was sworn in: the EIA’s weekly retail survey indicated regular gasoline averaged about $2.36 per gallon around mid‑January 2017 [2], and AAA’s end‑of‑January reporting gave a national average of $2.37/gal for January 31, 2017 [3], making a solid case that the inauguration‑week national average was roughly $2.36–$2.37/gal rather than a substantially higher or lower figure.
3. The year‑average and why it differs a little from the January snapshot
The EIA reports that U.S. regular retail gasoline averaged $2.41 per gallon across the entirety of 2017, a figure 27 cents higher than 2016 and influenced by rising crude prices and refinery outages later in the year [1]; annual averages smooth price swings and can therefore exceed a single‑week or single‑month reading such as the January values cited above, which is why the $2.41 yearly mean sits a few cents above the inauguration‑week range.
4. Regional variation and data caveats
Pump prices varied meaningfully by region and city—EIA analysis and AAA reporting both show state and city spreads, with some metropolitan areas above and others below the national numbers [1] [4]; for example, the BLS noted Atlanta’s January 2017 gasoline average at $2.251/gal, below the national mean, underscoring that any “national average” masks local differences [5].
5. Why prices were where they were: market drivers noted at the time
Contemporaneous explanations for the mid‑$2.30s national price included higher crude oil prices relative to 2016, refinery maintenance and hurricane‑related disruptions that tightened regional supplies, and market reactions to OPEC decisions—factors flagged by the EIA and AAA in their 2017 reporting and weekly updates [1] [3] [6].
6. Bottom line and limitations in the record
The most defensible answer: on inauguration week in January 2017 the U.S. national average retail gasoline price was about $2.36–$2.37 per gallon (supported by EIA weekly data and AAA month‑end reporting), while the EIA’s 2017 annual average was $2.41/gal; the available sources do not provide an exact single‑day inauguration‑day price in the excerpts provided, so the response uses nearby weekly/monthly and annual official figures to bracket the correct range [2] [3] [1].