AAA: August 2026 Was First August With U.S. Gasoline Above $4 Every Day

AAA says August 2026 was the first August on record in which the U.S. national average gasoline price stayed above $4 a gallon every day, an unusually persistent late-summer stretch for one of the country’s most closely watched household costs.

The group, which tracks daily fuel-price averages using station-level data, said in an Aug. 27 newsroom release: “For the first time ever, the national average in August has been above $4 per gallon every day.” Federal data shows the same broad pattern. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, which publishes weekly national retail gasoline averages, reported prices at $4.211 for the week of Aug. 3, $4.141 for Aug. 10, $4.182 for Aug. 17 and $4.218 for Aug. 24. Together, those readings show August’s elevated prices were sustained, not the result of a brief spike.

The August outcome also diverged from an earlier public expectation set by Energy Secretary Chris Wright. During a March 15 appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Wright was asked whether gasoline would be back under $3 by the busy summer travel season. “There’s a very good chance that’ll be true,” he said. Instead, August ended with the national average still above $4 every day, well above that earlier benchmark.

Gasoline prices matter to consumers because they are among the most visible everyday expenses, shaping commuting and travel costs and often influencing broader inflation worries and consumer sentiment. Analysts and federal energy outlooks have linked much of this summer’s price pressure partly to supply risks and shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz during the 2026 Iran conflict, though that is not the only factor that can move pump prices.

AAA’s daily figures are widely used by news organizations as the standard real-time national benchmark, while the EIA’s weekly series offers an independent federal check on broader trends. Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said in August that “the national average has never been above $4/gal after Aug. 12 in any previous year — ever,” underscoring how unusual the timing of this year’s prices has been.

The record, however, is limited in scope. It means August 2026 was the first August in which the national average stayed above $4 every day of the month. It does not mean U.S. gasoline prices are at their highest level on record overall. According to the EIA’s historical data, the broader national daily and weekly peak remains June 2022.

That distinction matters because the current story is less about an all-time price extreme than about persistence. Even without surpassing the highs seen four years ago, gasoline remained expensive throughout a month when prices often ease later in the summer, leaving drivers facing higher costs than many officials had expected earlier in the year.