The national average price for regular gas continues to rise on Friday, reaching $4.15 per gallon, according to AAA. It is an increase from a week ago, and also a month ago, when regular gas was $4.09 per gallon. If gas prices remain at the current level, they will set a record high for fuel costs on Labor Day. The previous record from Sept. 3, 2012, was $3.82 per gallon. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas has never exceeded the $4 per gallon price point in the country’s history.
Barring significant unforeseen circumstances and a rapid decrease in fuel costs, the record-high gas prices for Labor Day will be a dubious distinction for President Donald Trump, who campaigned on lowering gas prices nationwide. And, while he did accomplish that feat earlier in 2026, with gas prices setting a five-year low at $2.79 per gallon on January 12, fuel costs have risen sharply since then. In May, the national average price for a gallon of gas reached its highest price for the year at $4.562 per gallon.
Gas prices have soared over the last two months, primarily due to the military conflict with Iran and the geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway in the Middle East through which approximately 20% of global oil transport passes. At the end of June, the national average price for gas was $3.86 per gallon, the lowest since March. By the time July concluded, the national average had increased to $4.06 per gallon, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. Prices rose again in August to an average of $4.19 per gallon. Current gas pricing is closely linked to the high costs of crude oil which is currently in the $90 range.
The current high gas prices and likely new record high for Labor Day gas prices in the United States come a week after Trump announced a historic oil deal with Venezuela, stating the country acquired 65 billion barrels of oil from Venezuela, a quantity that would more than double the current amount in the country’s reserves.
“The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Aug. 28.
“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity,” the president added. “This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States!”
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Gas prices vary by region, with states on the West Coast typically having the highest prices in the nation. For the last two years, the lowest gas prices have usually been found in states in the South or Midwest. Before military operations began in Iran, most of the states with the lowest gas prices in the country were along the Gulf of America region. That has since changed.
Indiana has the lowest gas prices in the nation. The Hoosier State has a statewide average of $3.45 per gallon for regular gas on Friday, with Texas following at $3.69. Oklahoma, which was the state with the lowest gas prices in the country for much of the last two years, is next, with a statewide average of $3.71. This is followed by Mississippi at $3.73 per gallon and then Louisiana at $3.77.
California has the highest fuel costs in the country, with a statewide average of $5.81 per gallon. Next is Washington state, overtaking Hawaii for the state with the second-highest gas prices in the country, with a statewide average of $5.48 per gallon. The Aloha State is next at $5.42 per gallon. This is followed by two states hovering at the $ 5-per-gallon threshold: Alaska at $5.004 per gallon and Oregon at $4.995 per gallon.