Gas Prices Under Trump Look Different Next to Biden-Era Highs

Gas prices skyrocketed to extreme levels in early 2026, and the change appeared to happen just after the U.S. and Israel engaged in a military conflict with Iran. On March 31, 2026, U.S. gas reached an average of $4 per gallon, the highest it has been in years.

Needless to say, the pumps are really pinching people’s wallets, and many are placing the infamous “I Did That” stickers featuring Donald Trump’s face on gas pumps around the nation, signaling who they think is to blame.

While the rising gas prices have certainly raised questions about if and when they’ll drop, it has also sparked discussion around what the highest gas price was when Joe Biden was leading the country. Did the national average ever reach $4? Well, we did some digging to find out.

Joe Biden served as president of the U.S. from January 2021 through January 2025. During his presidency, the highest national average gas price reached $5.01 for regular unleaded on June 14, 2022.

That means some states saw prices higher than that, while others were lower than the national record.

For instance, in California, which is known for having some of the highest gas prices in the nation, the state saw its highest recorded average price reach $6.43 per gallon on June 14, 2022, under Biden, per AAA.

But prices in California are quickly climbing back toward that level, with the state average reaching $5.88 on March 31, 2026.

A year prior, on March 31, 2025, the average price per gallon of regular unleaded was $4.80, which basically means it has jumped about $1 per gallon in just a year under Trump’s leadership.

Hawaii, another state known for imposing higher gas prices for residents, saw its highest recorded average reach $5.62 per gallon on July 9, 2022, still under Biden’s presidential term, according to AAA. While Biden received a lot of criticism over rising gas prices, Hawaii is nearing those same record highs again.

As of March 31, 2026, the state average per gallon was $5.45, compared to a year prior in 2025 when it was just $4.51 per gallon.

While Biden’s presidency brought some historically high gas prices, the U.S. is nearing those record levels again in 2026 under Trump’s leadership. The national average price for gas reached $4.01 on March 31, 2026, just about a dollar shy of the highest national average price per gallon under Biden.

And while Biden received significant backlash for high gas prices during his term, Trump doesn’t appear to be doing much better, at least when it comes to diesel users.

That’s because the record shifted from Biden’s presidency to Trump’s on March 31, 2026, when diesel prices overstepped the highs we saw in 2022. In Washington, the highest recorded average price reached $6.61 per gallon on March 31.

And over in California, it stood at $7.45 per gallon.