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What the price of gas per gallon in 2021 vs 2025
Executive summary
The national average retail price of regular gasoline in calendar year 2021 was about $3.29 per gallon (EIA/consumer surveys and aggregated trackers show 2021 as a rebound year after 2020) and average U.S. prices through 2025 have been roughly in the low-$3s per gallon (multiple datasets show 2024 at about $3.30 and 2025 monthly averages generally near $3.08–$3.17, with a November 2025 weekly national average reported at $3.07) [1] [2] [3]. Inflation-adjusted measures using BLS CPI for gasoline imply $3.29 in 2021 equates to about $3.50 in 2025 in gasoline CPI terms [4].
1. Price then vs. price now — the headline numbers
The plain numbers most outlets cite: the year‑2021 national average for regular gasoline was about $3.29 per gallon (reference datasets compiled by government and private trackers) and in 2024 the U.S. average was roughly $3.30 per gallon; in 2025 monthly averages have clustered around $3.08 to $3.17 with a recent weekly national average of $3.07 reported in November 2025 [1] [2] [3]. These figures mean nominal pump prices in 2025 are similar to, or a few cents under/over, the 2021 level depending on which week or month you pick [2] [3].
2. What “same price” means once you account for inflation
Adjusting gasoline prices using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI for gasoline changes the comparison: official CPI indices show the gasoline CPI was 264.017 in 2021 and 280.631 in 2025, which produces an inflation-adjusted equivalence where $3.29 in 2021 has the same gasoline‑category purchasing power as about $3.50 in 2025 — meaning real gasoline costs rose modestly in CPI terms even if nominal pump prices look similar [4].
3. Why nominal averages can mask big monthly swings
Gasoline is highly volatile. Datasets from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), GasBuddy and other trackers show strong intra‑year swings — for example, 2024 saw a peak near $3.61 in April and a decline to about $3.02 in December; 2025 months have ranged from about $3.08 (January) to $3.17 (April/September) in reported averages [2] [5]. So a single “2021 vs 2025” comparison depends heavily on which month or week you compare [6] [2].
4. Sources and their perspectives — government data vs private trackers
EIA provides the authoritative weekly and monthly retail gasoline price series used by researchers and is the primary government source for historical and weekly trend data [1] [6]. Private aggregators (GasBuddy, Finder, WalletHub, LendingTree, Statista) compile and present those and other data with additional context such as regional differentials and consumer impacts; for instance, Finder reported a November 13, 2025 national average of $3.07 and labeled California as the most expensive state at $4.68 [3]. These private trackers often emphasize short‑term movements and local extremes whereas EIA provides the underlying official series [1] [3].
5. Regional variation — states tell a very different story
National averages hide big state gaps: as recent trackers show, California prices can be near $4.68 per gallon while states such as Oklahoma or Mississippi have averages closer to the mid‑$2s; those regional spreads drive markedly different experiences for drivers in different places even when the national average is near $3.07 [3]. Choosing national averages alone can obscure those political and economic impacts.
6. What to watch if you’re forecasting or budgeting
Analysts point to oil markets, refinery outages, seasonal demand, and policy (taxes, regulations) as the main drivers of short‑term pump swings; the EIA and other outlooks stress that winter demand and global oil market shifts can move prices quickly [7] [6]. For budgeting, using monthly averages (not a single date) and checking regional trackers such as GasBuddy or state breakdowns on Finder reduces the risk of surprise [8] [3].
7. Limitations and remaining questions
Available sources do not mention a single definitive “2021 national average listed here” number from EIA within the provided snippets, though multiple EIA pages and private trackers supply monthly and weekly series to construct precise yearly averages [1] [6] [3]. If you want an exact calendar‑year average (to the cent) for 2021 and for 2025, the EIA monthly/weekly series will give that and is cited above [1] [6].
If you’d like, I can extract exact EIA monthly averages and compute calendar‑year averages for 2021 and 2025 or produce a state‑by‑state comparison using the trackers cited (tell me which you prefer) [1] [3] [2].