Gas Prices Today: U.S. Average $4.331 as Diesel Hits $6.179

Gas prices in the United States are holding above $4 a gallon in mid-October 2026. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) put the national average for regular gasoline at $4.331 per gallon on Monday, October 12, $1.270 more than a year earlier, and AAA's daily survey showed $4.2988 on Sunday, October 18. Diesel is far more painful, averaging $6.179 in the EIA survey and $6.3224 at AAA.

The reason is the war involving Iran that began on February 28, which has kept oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz constrained for most of the year. Below: the latest numbers by region, why autumn has not brought the usual relief, the EIA's forecast for 2026 and 2027, prices in the UK, Canada and Australia, and practical ways to cut your fuel bill.

Gas prices today: the latest national average

There are two national averages worth knowing. The EIA publishes an official weekly figure from a Monday survey of stations, released midweek; the next is due October 20. AAA publishes a daily average.

In the EIA series, the national average climbed from $4.157 on September 7 to a peak of $4.478 on September 21, then eased for three straight weeks. On October 12 it stood at $4.331, 1.2 cents above its level a month earlier ($4.319 on September 14) and 2.3 cents lower than the week before. AAA's daily figure of $4.2988 on October 18 is down 16.99 cents from $4.4687 a month ago and 5.97 cents from $4.3585 a week ago, but still $1.258 above the $3.0408 drivers paid a year earlier.

Measure	Date	Regular gasoline (per gallon)
EIA weekly average	Oct. 12, 2026	$4.331
EIA weekly average	Oct. 5, 2026	$4.354
EIA weekly average (2026 autumn peak)	Sept. 21, 2026	$4.478
EIA weekly average, one month earlier	Sept. 14, 2026	$4.319
EIA weekly average, one year earlier	mid-Oct. 2025	$3.061
AAA daily average	Oct. 18, 2026	$4.2988
AAA daily average, one month earlier	mid-Sept. 2026	$4.4687
AAA daily average, one year earlier	mid-Oct. 2025	$3.0408
AAA all-time record (regular)	June 14, 2022	$5.0165

AAA's other grades on October 18 were $4.8151 for mid-grade, $5.2049 for premium and $3.3168 for E85. The national average has stayed above $4 since late July, and AAA called September record-setting: prices hit seasonal record highs instead of sliding after Labor Day.

Gas prices by region: where fuel costs the most and least

The EIA splits the country into five Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, or PADDs, plus sub-regions and a handful of states and cities. The spread between them is wide this autumn: drivers on the West Coast are paying $1.788 a gallon more than drivers along the Gulf Coast ($5.639 versus $3.851 in the EIA survey).

EIA region	Regular, Oct. 12, 2026	Change vs. a year ago
U.S. average	$4.331	+$1.270
East Coast (PADD 1)	$4.118	+$1.166
New England (PADD 1A)	$4.291	+$1.311
Central Atlantic (PADD 1B)	$4.347	+$1.243
Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C)	$3.929	+$1.080
Midwest (PADD 2)	$4.145	+$1.333
Gulf Coast (PADD 3)	$3.851	+$1.228
Rocky Mountain (PADD 4)	$4.439	+$1.390
West Coast (PADD 5)	$5.639	+$1.426
West Coast less California	$5.071	+$1.122
California	$6.104	+$1.647

California is the most expensive state, as usual. It requires its own cleaner-burning gasoline blend, sits far from the Gulf Coast refining hub and adds higher fuel taxes and program costs. The EIA's city figures show Los Angeles at $6.082 and San Francisco at $6.154, while Seattle was $5.606. AAA's October 15 ranking of the ten priciest markets read: California ($6.23), Hawaii ($5.63), Washington ($5.42), Nevada ($5.42), Oregon ($4.97), Alaska ($4.96), Idaho ($4.85), Utah ($4.82), Illinois ($4.69) and Arizona ($4.66).

The cheapest gas is concentrated in the Southeast and along the Gulf, close to the refineries of Texas and Louisiana. AAA's ten least expensive markets on October 15 were North Carolina ($3.70), Georgia ($3.77), Texas ($3.83), Tennessee ($3.88), Indiana ($3.89), Louisiana ($3.90), South Carolina ($3.90), Mississippi ($3.91), Arkansas ($3.93) and Alabama ($3.94). In the EIA's city survey Houston was the cheapest at $3.762, with Cleveland at $3.851. Even the cheapest EIA region, the Gulf Coast, is up $1.228 from a year earlier.

Why are gas prices so high in October 2026?

According to the EIA's breakdown for May 2026, when regular averaged $4.48, crude oil made up 52% of the price of a gallon, refining costs and margins 22%, distribution and marketing 15% and taxes 12%. For diesel at $5.60 the shares were 42% crude, 25% refining, 23% distribution and marketing and 11% taxes. When the pump price moves, crude oil is almost always the main reason.

The Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz

Fuel prices started rising after the war began on February 28. As CBS News and the Associated Press have reported, AAA's national average reached a high of $4.56 in May, eased after the United States and Iran reached an interim deal in June, then climbed again as fighting resumed over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that normally carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil. In its October outlook the EIA assumes Middle East oil flows stay constrained through the end of 2026, even as convoys, bypass pipelines and ship-to-ship transfers slowly lift exports. It also cited attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline as a source of volatility.

Crude prices reflect that. AAA reported that the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, settled at $95.09 per barrel on October 14, and the CBS News energy tracker showed WTI at $101.40 and international Brent at $109.87 on October 16.

OPEC+ is not adding barrels

On October 4 the seven core OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman) agreed to keep production targets for November unchanged, Reuters reported, noting that announced output increases this year have largely existed on paper because of the supply disruptions. The group's next meeting is set for November 1.

Refining margins and very tight diesel

The EIA says September's jump was driven both by crude and by rising "crack spreads", the gap between the price of crude and the wholesale price of gasoline and diesel. Distillate fuel, which includes diesel and heating oil, is the tightest market of all: East Coast inventories were 32% below their five-year seasonal average in September. Refiners running harder to make diesel also bid up crude. On the government side, the Department of Energy announced exchanges of 40 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on September 29, and G7 leaders issued a statement on energy security on October 2.

Winter-blend gasoline and the autumn driving lull

In a normal year, autumn is the cheapest season for gasoline. Federal summer volatility rules, which apply at retail stations from June 1 to September 15, require a lower-evaporation blend that costs more to make. After mid-September stations switch to winter-blend gasoline, which can contain more inexpensive butane, and driving demand drops after the summer travel season. AAA's data show U.S. gasoline demand slipped to 8.40 million barrels a day in the week to October 10. Those seasonal forces explain the modest dip since September 21, but they are small next to the jump in crude.

Diesel prices: $6.179 a gallon after a September record

Diesel is where the 2026 shock hits hardest. The EIA's weekly on-highway diesel average was $6.179 on October 12, up $2.514 from a year earlier. AAA's diesel average of $6.32 on October 18 is 20.52 cents below its all-time record of $6.5276, set on September 22, 2026. Because trucks carry most U.S. freight, expensive diesel feeds into the cost of groceries and other goods, one reason food staples such as egg prices and beef remain a household worry.

EIA region	Diesel, Oct. 12, 2026	Change vs. a year ago
U.S. average	$6.179	+$2.514
New England	$6.441	+$2.492
Central Atlantic	$6.471	+$2.594
Lower Atlantic	$5.645	+$2.006
Midwest	$6.259	+$2.653
Gulf Coast	$5.809	+$2.510
Rocky Mountain	$6.302	+$2.644
West Coast	$7.240	+$2.776
California	$8.091	+$3.151

The EIA expects retail diesel to stay above $6 a gallon in October and then come down gradually, but to remain above $4 through 2027 because distillate inventories will stay below normal. Households that heat with oil, mostly in the Northeast, face heating oil prices more than 30% above last winter, according to the agency's Winter Fuels Outlook.

Gas price forecast for the rest of 2026 and 2027

The EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), released October 6 and based on data through October 1, raised its oil and fuel forecasts from September. It now expects Brent crude to average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026, $14 higher than a month earlier, before falling to an average of $84 in 2027 as Middle East exports recover.

EIA STEO (Oct. 6, 2026)	2024	2025	2026 forecast	2027 forecast
Retail regular gasoline ($/gal, annual average)	$3.31	$3.10	$3.91	$3.56
Retail diesel ($/gal, annual average)	$3.76	$3.66	$5.19	$4.49
Brent crude ($/barrel)	$81	$69	$96	$84
WTI crude ($/barrel)	$77	$65	$88	$80

For gasoline, the EIA expects October to average about the same as September (when regular averaged $4.35) and prices to decline slowly after that, following crude oil. The 2026 annual average of $3.91 looks low next to today's pump price because it includes the cheaper months before the war, when the national average sat below $3. The agency's 2027 projection is $3.56 a gallon, up from $3.35 in its September outlook.

Two caveats matter. The EIA notes that falling wholesale prices will not reach the pump right away, because retail margins squeezed in 2026 are expected to recover in 2027. And the forecast does not include extra supply from the October 2 G7 announcement or any events after October 1.

Gas prices in the UK, Canada and Australia

Country	Latest official or national figure	Earlier comparison
United Kingdom	Petrol 175.28p/litre, diesel 200.04p/litre (week of Oct. 12, 2026)	134.81p and 142.99p a year earlier (Oct. 13, 2025)
Canada	173.9 cents/litre regular, CAA national average (Oct. 18, 2026)	129.0 cents a year earlier; 183.4 cents a month earlier
Australia	Petrol 241.9 cents/litre, diesel 278.5 cents/litre, five largest cities (Oct. 14, 2026)	Petrol up 71.0 cents and diesel up 101.9 cents since Feb. 20, 2026

United Kingdom. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's weekly road fuel prices show UK unleaded at 175.28 pence a litre and diesel at 200.04 pence for the week starting October 12. That diesel price is above the July 2022 weekly peak of 199.22 pence. Fuel duty is unchanged at 52.95 pence a litre, with 20% VAT on top. Before the war, in the week of February 23, petrol cost 131.71 pence and diesel 141.46 pence.

Canada. The Canadian Automobile Association's national average for regular was 173.9 cents a litre on October 18, down from 183.4 cents a month earlier but far above 129.0 cents a year ago. The past-year high was 190.4 cents on May 6, 2026.

Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which publishes weekly monitoring reports during the conflict, found average petrol in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth at 241.9 cents a litre on October 14, up 2.9 cents in a week. Petrol is 15.3 cents below its level on March 31, which the ACCC identifies as the post-escalation high point, while diesel, at 278.5 cents, is 43.9 cents below its March high.

How to pay less for gas

You cannot control crude oil, but you can control where you buy, how you pay and how you drive. With regular above $4, every 10 cents saved on a 15-gallon fill-up is $1.50.

Shop for price

• Use a price app or map. Free price apps and AAA's TripTik planner show current prices along a route, so check before the warning light comes on.
• Look at warehouse clubs. Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's usually price fuel below nearby stations for members. Whether it pays depends on how much you drive; our guide to the Costco membership price breaks down the fees, and Costco hours lists when its gas stations open.

Pay the smart way

• Pay cash or debit where there is a card surcharge. Many independent stations post a lower cash price.
• Use fuel rewards. Grocery loyalty programs, station apps and gas-category credit cards return a few cents per gallon or a percentage back. Stacking a grocery discount with a rewards card can add up, but only if you pay the card balance in full.
• Buy the grade your owner's manual requires. Premium cost 90.61 cents more than regular in AAA's survey on October 18 ($5.2049 versus $4.2988). If your car only recommends premium, regular is usually fine.

Drive and maintain for mileage

The Department of Energy and EPA's fueleconomy.gov site lists the habits that matter most:

Habit	Effect on fuel use (fueleconomy.gov)
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, hard braking)	Can lower mileage 15% to 30% at highway speeds and 10% to 40% in stop-and-go traffic
Large roof-top cargo box	Can cut fuel economy 6% to 17% on the highway and 10% to 25% at 65 to 75 mph
Extra weight	1% lower mileage per extra 100 pounds
Idling	Uses a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour
Cruise control on the highway	Helps hold a steady speed and save fuel

Keep tires inflated to the pressure on the driver's door sticker, combine errands into one loop and take the roof box off when you are not using it. For a longer-term fix, an electric or plug-in hybrid car changes the math entirely; AAA's survey puts public charging at 41 cents per kilowatt hour, and EV news such as the Tesla Roadster shows how quickly the market is moving. If high fuel costs are squeezing the household budget, our list of realistic side hustles covers ways to bring in extra income.

How 2026 compares with past gas price spikes

Today's national average is high, but it is not a record. AAA's all-time high for regular is $5.017, set on June 14, 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. What makes 2026 unusual is timing and diesel: prices normally fall through autumn, yet September brought record seasonal highs and an all-time diesel record of $6.5276. Regular averaged $3.31 in 2024 and $3.10 in 2025, against a projected $3.91 this year.

The strain is real: CBS News reported a recent Gallup poll in which two-thirds of Americans said fuel costs had caused financial hardship for their household. Until shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal, official forecasts point to a slow decline rather than a quick return to $3 gasoline.