Election Day gas prices, at the time and after inflation, 1976-2026

What this chart asks

Is this Election Day's gas price a record once inflation is counted?

Why it is shown this way

• Two lines on one axis show how a record in plain dollars differs from the record after inflation.
• Lines join election years two years apart; they show the pre-election reading only, not prices in between.
• The y axis starts at zero, so the size of each price is shown honestly.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

EIA weekly survey begins

1990

Why this is marked: Marks the switch from the BLS quarterly average to EIA's weekly reading, so readers know earlier points are approximate.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset us-election-day-gas-prices, analysis nominal-real-series

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

U.S. Election Day gas prices in dollars, after inflation and in work time, 1976-2026, with state taxes

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Price (weekly), via FRED series GASREGW U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline, including taxes, each Monday, 1990-2026.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; EIA asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. EIA samples about 900 retail outlets at 8 a.m. each Monday; prices include all taxes. FRED republishes the series unchanged.

2. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update Weekly regular gasoline prices for the U.S., California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington for October 26, 2026, and the share of the August 2026 pump price from crude oil, refining, distribution and taxes.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; EIA asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The same EIA weekly survey as the national series, published for nine states and selected cities.

3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price: Gasoline, Unleaded Regular (U.S. city average), via FRED series APU000074714 Average retail price of unleaded regular, October-December, for the election years 1976-1988.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; BLS asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. Collected by BLS for the Consumer Price Index; a different survey from EIA's, used only before EIA's weekly series began in 1990.

4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, All items in U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, via FRED series CPIAUCNS Consumer price index used to convert each price to September 2026 dollars (September 2026 = 336.940).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; BLS asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The headline national consumer price index. EIA uses the same method (nominal price times the ratio of CPI values) for its own real-price series.

5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees, Total Private, via FRED series AHETPI Average hourly pay for September of each election year, 1990-2026, used to express a gallon in minutes of work.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; BLS asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. From the BLS monthly payroll survey of businesses; covers production and nonsupervisory workers, about 80% of private employment.

6. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal and state motor fuels taxes (fueltaxes.xlsx), sheets July 2026 (revised) and July 2022 (revised) Federal gasoline tax (18.4 cents) and each state's gasoline excise tax plus other statewide taxes and fees, as of July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2022.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; EIA asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. Compiled by EIA twice a year from state statutes and agencies. Excludes county and local taxes and taxes based on gross receipts.

7. The Washington Post on X The claim checked: the Post's post of November 2, 2026 linking its story on Election Day gas prices.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Quoted for criticism and commentary. Quote only.

   Reliability: News report. The newspaper's official account. The post does not name its price source; the story behind it is paywalled.

Limitations

• 1976-1988 use a BLS October-December average, a different survey from EIA's weekly reading used from 1990.
• Inflation adjustment uses the CPI-U for September of each election year (October-December for 1976-1988).
• The 2026 point is October 26, the last EIA reading published before Election Day.