Half of Americans See Gas Price Rise by 50c per Gallon in Only a Month

More than half of Americans have seen average gas prices leap by over 50 cents in the last month alone, according to data analysed by Newsweek.

The price jump for regular gasoline over the past month is far higher than the headline rate of inflation.

The 21 states that have seen the biggest increases are all showing higher than 10 percent inflation since last month, compared to the headline inflation rate for all goods of 8.5 percent from last year.

The 21 states are:

$ increase from last month% increase
Connecticut$0.7719.6%
New Jersey$0.7217.6%
New York$0.7117.0%
Ohio$0.7018.5%
Rhode Island$0.6917.0%
Indiana$0.6917.6%
New Hampshire$0.6616.4%
Massachusetts$0.6515.9%
Michigan$0.6516.6%
Delaware$0.6516.3%
Vermont$0.6415.6%
Maine$0.6315.4%
Illinois$0.6314.4%
Pennsylvania$0.5914.1%
Maryland$0.5814.4%
Texas$0.5614.9%
South Carolina$0.5514.6%
District of Columbia$0.5412.4%
North Carolina$0.5313.8%
Washington$0.5110.8%
Virginia$0.5113.0%

The population of those states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is 168 million people—just over half of the national total (332 million).

The monthly price rises have pushed the average price of regular gas to $4.593 per gallon.

Some states have seen price rises of over 25 cents per gallon in the last week alone, including Alaska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Maine, New York, and Oregon.

According to figures from the AAA, all 50 states (and D.C.) have seen yearly inflation in regular gas of over 30 percent, with Massachusetts seeing prices 62 percent higher than last year.

The AAA said in a statement: "The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices for consumers. Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year."

The price of crude oil is currently $108 per barrel. The sharp increase in price began around March, sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil price
Chart showing the price of oil (WTI). Oil prices have gone up significantly since March 2022.

Earlier in May, President Biden addressed the rising gas prices, saying "we produced more oil domestically in my first year in office than my predecessor did in his first year.

"To further drive down prices, my administration is allowing the sale of gasoline using homegrown biofuels this summer, which wasn't allowed before."

On May 19, the House passed a bill that gives the Federal Trade Commission the authority to investigate energy companies for alleged price gouging, by the margin of 217-207.

The bill was opposed by Republicans, and will be unlikely to get through the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to pass.

Gas station CA
Gas prices over $6.00 per gallon are displayed at a gas station on May 18, 2022 in Petaluma, California. Gas prices have gone up by more than 50 cents for half of Americans in the... Getty Images

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About the writer


Rob Minto is Senior Editor, Data at Newsweek. He can also be found on Twitter: @robminto

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

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