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10 States Where Gas Prices Are Spiking the Highest Due to the Iran War
By Pete Grieve MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, gas prices have already increased by between 1% and 14% in the past week in the U.S.
As the war pitting Iran against the U.S. and Israel intensifies, oil prices are surging globally, leading to a rise in the cost of gasoline.
In the U.S., gas prices have already increased by between 1% and 14% in the past week, depending on the state, Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, says in an email.
Soon, drivers everywhere will feel an impact.
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“This is a general tide lifting all boats,” Cinquegrana says about whether specific parts of the U.S. will see larger gas price increases than others. “California will always be a place to keep an eye on that has the risk of disproportionate price increases. But for now it appears to be all states.”
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California leads the nation in having the highest gas prices, although the war in the Middle East is only part of the reason. The average price for a gallon of regular gas is $4.74 in the Golden State, up 10.2 cents in the past week, according to AAA data.
That compares to a national average for all states of $3.20 per gallon, up from $2.98 a week ago (a 22.3-cent increase).
The 10 states with the highest gas prices right now
Here are the 10 states where drivers are paying the most for gas — and the week-over-week increases in the price per gallon, according to AAA:
- California: $4.74 per gallon (+10.2 cents)
- Hawaii: $4.42 (+1.2 cents)
- Washington: $4.41 (+5 cents)
- Oregon: $3.99 (+6.7 cents)
- Nevada: $3.83 (+1.3 cents)
- Alaska: $3.67 (+8.7 cents)
- Arizona: $3.49 (+22.1 cents)
- Illinois: $3.32 (+28.7 cents)
- Pennsylvania: $3.30 (+17 cents)
- Michigan: $3.24 (+24.1 cents)
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How much will gas prices rise because of the Iran war?
For American drivers, the sudden spike in gas prices may bring back memories from 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine and gas prices climbed to all-time highs. A similar spike due to the Iran war is unlikely, though geopolitical events and their effect on oil prices are difficult to forecast.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the “Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz” should it become necessary. That strait connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and about 20% of global oil typically goes through it.
Traffic through the strait has slowed to a fraction of normal levels. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 3,000 ships are currently idle in the Persian Gulf, waiting for passage.
With oil-producing countries like the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait being targeted in the broadening conflict, oil prices have surged to over $81 per barrel for Brent crude. That’s an increase of just over $10 in the past week.
Crude oil makes up about 47% of what drivers pay for gas in the U.S. As a general rule of thumb, gas prices usually move by about 25 cents with a $10 swing in the price of oil.
If the conflict drags on — or if Iran closes the strait for a meaningful period — Americans could be in for a painful time at the pump, experts warn. Even before the events of the past week, gas prices were expected to rise this spring due to seasonal factors, including rising demand and the annual switch to summer-blend gasoline. So if you see a reasonable price at a gas station this week, it’s not a bad idea to fill up the tank.
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Pete Grieve is a New York-based reporter who covers personal finance news. At Money, Pete covers trending stories that affect Americans’ wallets on topics including car buying, insurance, housing, credit cards, retirement and taxes. He studied political science and photography at the University of Chicago, where he was editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon. Pete began his career as a professional journalist in 2019. Prior to joining Money, he was a health reporter for Spectrum News in Ohio, where he wrote digital stories and appeared on TV to provide coverage to a statewide audience. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times and CNN Politics. Pete received extensive journalism training through Report for America, a nonprofit organization that places reporters in newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities, and he attended the annual Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in 2021. Pete has discussed his reporting in interviews with outlets including the Columbia Journalism Review and WBEZ (Chicago's NPR station). He’s been a panelist at the Chicago Headline Club’s FOIA Fest and he received the Institute on Political Journalism’s $2,500 Award for Excellence in Collegiate Reporting in 2017. An essay he wrote for Grey City magazine was published in a 2020 book, Remembering J. Z. Smith: A Career and its Consequence.