Gas prices: National average falls to $2.79 per gallon for first time in nearly five years

The national average price for a gallon of regular gas continues to fall, sitting at $2.796 on Monday. 

This was a drop from a week ago, when the national average was $2.812 per gallon, and from a month ago, when it cost $2.932 for a gallon of regular gas, according to AAA. Monday’s national average was the lowest for regular gas in nearly five years, when the national average price for that month was $2.501 in February 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gas was slightly more expensive in March 2021 at $2.81 per gallon, which marked a year after the first COVID-19 emergency was declared in the U.S.

After years of expensive gas prices during the Biden administration, Americans have experienced a welcome relief at the pumps during the second term of President Donald Trump. Under Biden, the national average for gas prices constantly exceeded $3 per gallon. During Biden’s four years in office, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $3.555, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This includes the highest yearly average for a gallon of regular gasoline in U.S. history, at $4.059 in 2022, and the highest monthly average in history, at $5.032 per gallon in June 2022.

The drop in gas prices over the last two months has resulted in 43 states in the country having average gas prices lower than $3 per gallon. There are 13 states in the country with average prices lower than $2.50 per gallon and 23 states with average fuel costs under $2.65 per gallon — a total that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago.

Gas prices vary depending on the region of the country, with states on the West Coast typically having the most expensive gas prices in the nation. For the last two years, the cheapest gas prices were usually found in states located along the coast of the Gulf of America, or Oklahoma, which is adjacent to states along the Gulf Coast. That has changed in recent weeks.

Hawaii has started 2026 as the state with the most expensive gas prices in the nation after California held that distinction for most of 2025. On Monday, the average cost of a gallon of gas in the Aloha State was $4.404. California was next at $4.223 per gallon. Washington had the third-highest gas prices in the country, with a statewide average of $3.803. This was followed by Alaska and Nevada with average prices of $3.486 and $3.351, respectively.

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Conversely, the Sooner State has the cheapest gas prices in the U.S. on Monday, with pumps in Oklahoma having a statewide average of $2.212 per gallon. Canadian County in Oklahoma has an average price of $2.045 per gallon, according to AAA, which is believed to be the least-expensive county average price in any state in the U.S. 

Arkansas is the state with the next cheapest gas prices in the U.S. with an average of $2.359 per gallon. Kansas is next with an average price of $2.394 per gallon, followed by Texas at $2.401. Colorado has the fifth lowest gas prices in the U.S. with an average cost of $2.408 per gallon.