What was the average us retail gasoline price in january 2025 when biden left office

1. What the official monthly numbers say

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported the January 2025 average price for regular motor gasoline as $3.08 per gallon, up 1.9% from December 2024 and back to the January 2024 level after a 12‑month high in April 2024 ^[1]. The EIA maintains monthly and weekly series for "U.S. Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices" that show similar monthly‑average patterns and small intra‑month variation ^{[2] [5]}.

2. What daily trackers were reporting during January

Daily trackers showed modest variation around that monthly average. AAA’s public reports show a national average of $3.06 on several January dates and $3.10–$3.13 on others; a trade outlet cited EIA data putting the late‑January national average near $3.10 ^{[3] [4]}. Independent aggregators like Statista captured a daily point estimate of $3.06 on January 6, 2025, which lines up with the monthly $3.08 average when daily spikes and dips are smoothed ^[6].

3. Why different numbers can all be “correct”

Monthly averages (BTS, EIA) smooth daily volatility; daily trackers (AAA, GasBuddy) report the price on a given calendar date. The EIA’s forecasts and monthly breakdowns also show seasonal and quarterly swings — for example, EIA’s January Short‑Term Energy Outlook projected quarterly averages that would put Q1 2025 near $3.06/gal and the full year near $3.20/gal, illustrating that point‑in‑time values differ from monthly or quarterly means ^{[7] [8]}.

4. Political framing and competing narratives

Political claims about “gas prices when Biden left office” have been used both to criticize and defend administrations. Conservative outlets and some partisan reports highlighted late‑January daily averages above $3.10 to frame prices as a political problem for President Biden ^[9]. Other fact‑based sources emphasize the broader trend: retail prices fell from 2022 peaks and averaged $3.30 in 2024, with forecasts predicting modest declines in 2025 — context that weakens a simple blame‑or‑credit narrative ^{[10] [7]}.

5. What’s missing or uncertain in the reporting

Available sources provide monthly averages and daily snapshots but do not converge on a single “the price on Biden’s last hour in office.” The Bureau of Transportation Statistics gives a clear monthly average of $3.08 for January 2025; AAA and EIA daily series give date‑specific values in the $3.06–$3.13 range ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Available sources do not mention an official, timestamped “price the moment an administration ended,” so any assertion of a single definitive figure requires specifying the data series and date cited (not found in current reporting).

6. How to quote a defensible answer

If you need one concise, defensible number for January 2025, cite the BTS monthly average: $3.08 per gallon (January 2025) ^[1]. If you prefer a date‑specific figure for late January (the days around Jan. 20, 2025), use AAA/EIA daily data showing roughly $3.06–$3.13 per gallon and note that daily values moved within that band during the month ^{[3] [4] [2]}.

7. Bottom line and newsroom caution

Reporters and commentators should specify whether they mean a daily snapshot, a monthly average, or an EIA forecast when invoking “the gas price when Biden left office.” The monthly official average: $3.08/gal (BTS, Jan 2025) is the most straightforward metric; daily trackers clustered around $3.06–$3.13 in mid‑ to late January ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Be explicit about the data source to avoid misleading readers or enabling partisan cherry‑picking ^{[1] [2]}.