SOME CARD INFO MAY BE OUTDATED
This page includes information about these cards, currently unavailable on NerdWallet. The information has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
Updated on March 3.
- The average regular gas price in the U.S. as of March 3 is $3.109 per gallon, according to AAA, up fractionally from $3.097 a year ago and from $2.883 last month.
The U.S. strikes on Iran over the weekend have spooked investors, prompting commodity oil prices to jump and stocks to fall. For U.S. drivers, it means gas prices are likely to rise in the coming days.
Brent crude — the global benchmark — spiked to $82 on Monday, while futures markets priced West Texas Intermediate — the U.S. benchmark — at more than $71 per barrel, after trading at under $61 as recently as mid-February. Fears are mounting that oil per barrel could rise up to $100 if the conflict escalates or is prolonged.
OPEC+ announced it would increase production in April by 206,000 barrels per day, which could provide a buffer. But oil won’t reach markets if traffic does not resume through the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil, which was stalled on Monday.
The U.S., despite being the world’s largest producer of oil, can see gas prices rise in response to any shock to the world’s oil supply. Gas Buddy, which tracks gas prices, projects drivers can expect a 10- to 15-cent-per-gallon increase in the coming weeks.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the strikes on Iran could last “four to five weeks.”
What are gas prices like right now?
As of March 2, gas prices are beginning to climb, but remain lower than in most of 2025, according to AAA, which tracks fuel costs. Gas prices are below $3 in 39 states.
Refineries are beginning to switch back to producing a summer -blend, which is more expensive than the winter blend, which will likely raise prices soon.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration says the falling price of crude oil — accounting for half of retail gas prices — helped lower prices at the pump in 2025. On a monthly average basis, the price of Brent crude oil dropped from $79 per barrel in January 2025 to $63 per barrel in December 2025 — its lowest average monthly price since the start of 2021, according to the EIA.
Pump prices were stable over the summer and fell in the fall and winter, especially compared to recent years. Oil prices moderated at around $65 a barrel after spiking briefly in June 2025 in response to the Israel-Iran conflict, and were below $60 at the beginning of the year.
» Stay informed: Check out NerdWallet's news hub for all the latest.
Meet MoneyNerd, your weekly news decoder
So much news. So little time. NerdWallet's new weekly newsletter makes sense of the headlines that affect your wallet.
Gas price inflation, explained
It wasn’t that long ago that gas prices were soaring: Prices surged in 2021 and 2022, largely due to two economic disruptions: pandemic-related supply shocks and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The combination of the two hit energy markets hard and prices never recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Here’s what happened:
- In 2019, before the pandemic, the average per-gallon price of regular gas was $2.601, according to EIA data.
- Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the national average increased before peaking at $5.016 per gallon on June 14, 2022, according to AAA.
- Since then, gas prices have retreated, but they haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Today, gas prices are about 21% higher than they were six years ago.
Why gas prices remain higher than they used to be
At this time of year, seasonal factors play a considerable role in raising gas prices. A scheduled switch to summer-blend gasoline temporarily elevates prices through the warm months. Inflation, supply-chain disruptions and gas tax hikes can factor into higher prices, as well. But in the end, elevated oil prices are the main culprit.
The cost of oil typically represents more than half of the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). So, a major reason gas prices have remained so high is that, until recently, oil prices were higher than they were before the pandemic hit in 2020 and Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. That’s based on the average monthly price of West Texas Intermediate crude, which is used as the benchmark for oil prices in North America.
Keep in mind that gas prices at the pump rarely reflect that day’s market conditions. Instead, they represent costs incurred weeks, even months before. That lag makes prices slower to rise and fall than news headlines might suggest. And while spot shortages, refinery production shortages or blending issues can drive up gas prices locally, big nationwide swings in gas prices are almost always due to the price of crude oil.
So far in 2026, fuel costs are lower than they were a year ago. Here’s how gas prices compare today:
- As of March 2, the average regular gas price in the U.S. is $2.997 per gallon, according to AAA, which tracks gas prices.
- The price is up from $2.938 a gallon a week ago.
- The price is up from $2.875 per gallon a month ago.
- A year ago, the price was $3.098 per gallon.
At the moment, price fluctuations are short-term trends happening within the larger picture of elevated gas prices. Oil prices are well below their June 2022 peak of almost $120 per barrel.
Average gas price per state
The average gas price per state varies widely, with the most expensive state typically costing about $2 more per gallon of regular than the least expensive state.
Article sources
NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary,
trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed
studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with
industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness
and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high
standards for journalism by reading our
editorial guidelines.
