The national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.098 on Monday, according to AAA. The price marks the latest drop in fuel costs since President Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20.
Monday’s price of $3.098 is less expensive than former President Joe Biden’s last day in office, when it was $3.125 per gallon. After several months of significant gas price drops, fuel costs steadily increased during the last weeks of the Biden administration, particularly after Christmas.
Additionally, Monday’s price is less expensive than a week ago, when regular gas was $3.12 per gallon. However, even with the recent increases, fuel costs are still higher than a month ago, when the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.067.
The price of gas was a significant issue for people in the country during Biden’s term. Between 2017 and 2020, during Trump’s first term, the average price of regular gas was $2.476 per gallon. Costs quickly rose to over $3 per gallon by June 2021, less than six months after Biden’s inauguration. High gas prices created a severe economic headache for Biden. It would last throughout his entire term.
Gas prices peaked at $4.929 in June 2022, the highest national average cost for a gallon of regular gas in the nation’s history. They gradually decreased the next month but fluctuated between 2022 and 2024. By April 2024, gas prices reached a high for the year before starting to fall in May. Over the next eight months, the cost of gas eventually dropped to $3.01 per gallon by mid-December. Prices started to rise after Christmas.
Despite the decreases under Trump, gas prices vary across the country, depending on the state, ranging from $2.675 to $4.54 per gallon. Some states have experienced increases at the pumps while in others the cost of gas has gone down. Currently, the state with the most expensive gas prices in the nation is Hawaii, at $4.54 per gallon. Meanwhile, Mississippi has the lowest fuel costs in the country, with a gallon of regular gas in the state costing $2.675. Oklahoma is not very far behind, with a national average of just a penny more, at $2.685 per gallon.
In the capital region, prices have started to drop recently after surging in recent weeks. Drivers in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., are paying more at the pumps than a month ago. However, prices have dropped compared to a week ago.
Virginia’s average gas price, which was under $3 per gallon in January, is at $3.038 on Monday. This was a decrease from a week ago, however, when a gallon of gas in the state was $3.089. Virginia has the least expensive gas in the Delmarva region.
Delaware was once the state with the cheapest gas along the East Coast. On Monday, the average price for a gallon of gas in the state is now $3.11. This is a substantive drop from last week, when the average cost for regular gas was $3.20 per gallon.
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Maryland was the state with the most expensive average gas prices in the region as recently as a week ago. However, fuel costs have dropped in the state and the price for a gallon of regular gas on Monday is $3.205. A week ago, the price was $3.299 per gallon.
In Washington, D.C., the average price for a gallon of regular gas on Monday is $3.276. This is a very slight increase from Sunday’s cost in the nation’s capital but a drop from a week ago, when a gallon of regular gas was $3.284.
