A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline now costs more than $4 on average nationwide, the first time the benchmark has crossed that threshold since late 2022, after prices spiked 22 cents in a single week this spring. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly fuel survey confirmed the jump, which ranks among the sharpest week-over-week increases on record outside of hurricane-related disruptions.

For a driver filling a 15-gallon tank, the math is immediate: roughly $3.30 more per trip to the pump. For Maria Delgado, a home health aide in Houston who logs about 200 miles a day visiting patients scattered across the metro area, an unusually high daily total that reflects the extreme distances some home-care workers cover in a city with limited public transit, the math is worse.

“I used to budget $50 a week for gas, and now I’m looking at closer to $65,” Delgado said. “That’s grocery money. That’s my kid’s school supplies.”

What the federal data shows

Two independent federal datasets confirm the spike. The EIA’s weekly Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, which tracks retail prices using transaction-level data from stations across the country, recorded the 22-cent increase during the spring of 2026. Its cost breakdown shows that rising crude oil prices and widening refining margins account for the bulk of the jump.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reached a similar conclusion in its March 2026 motor fuel price report, which tracks monthly benchmarks and year-over-year trends. That data shows the 22-cent spike was not an isolated blip but an acceleration of an upward trend that had been building for weeks.

AAA, which draws its figures from more than 150,000 gas stations, reported the same $4-plus national average. The Associated Press, citing AAA data, described it as the highest level since 2022.

Why crude oil volatility is the main culprit

Crude oil typically accounts for more than half the retail price of a gallon of gasoline, so when oil markets swing, pump prices follow within days. The EIA’s This Week in Petroleum bulletin pointed to a collision of pressures this spring: seasonal refinery maintenance that temporarily cut output, tighter-than-expected global inventories, and persistent geopolitical uncertainty in key oil-producing regions.

No single factor explains the full 22-cent retail increase. Refinery turnarounds happen every spring, but when they overlap with rising crude benchmarks and strong early-season driving demand, the effect on pump prices compounds. The EIA noted that U.S. gasoline inventories fell below their five-year seasonal average during the same period, leaving less cushion to absorb shocks.

OPEC+ production targets heavily influence global crude prices, but no new output cuts were announced in the weeks before the surge. The absence of a clear supply-side trigger is itself notable: it suggests the spike was driven more by the convergence of inventory drawdowns, refinery downtime, and demand pressure than by any single policy decision.

Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, called the 22-cent weekly move “unusually aggressive for this time of year” but cautioned against panic. “We’ve seen spring price spikes before that reverse once refineries finish maintenance and ramp back up,” Kloza told reporters in late April 2026. “The question is whether crude markets cooperate or keep adding pressure.”

Where drivers are feeling it most

The national average obscures sharp regional differences. West Coast drivers, who already pay more because of stricter fuel specifications and higher state taxes, saw prices climb well above $4.50 per gallon in several California metro areas, according to the EIA’s regional breakdown. Gulf Coast states, which benefit from proximity to refining capacity, stayed below the national average but still absorbed double-digit cent-per-gallon increases in a single week.

The burden falls unevenly by income. A 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis, the most recent available, found that households in the lowest income quintile devote roughly 4% of pre-tax income to gasoline, compared with about 1.5% for the highest quintile. A sustained stretch above $4 per gallon widens that gap, functioning as what economists have long described as a regressive tax on workers who have the least flexibility to cut back on driving.

Delgado’s situation in Houston illustrates the bind. Her patients are scattered across the metro area, and public transit does not connect most of their homes. Driving less is not an option. “I can’t just not show up,” she said.

What remains uncertain

The 22-cent figure, while reported by the EIA’s weekly survey, deserves a note of context. Typical week-over-week swings in the national average fall in the 5- to 15-cent range. A 22-cent move in a single week would rank among the sharpest outside of hurricane-related disruptions, and subsequent EIA updates will either confirm or revise the number as more station-level data is processed.

No published government study has yet measured how the spring 2026 price surge has changed consumer spending patterns, commuting habits, or demand for electric vehicles. Those effects typically take weeks or months to surface in economic data. The White House has not announced any new policy response to the spike, though past administrations have used Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases and gas tax proposals to address similar surges.

Whether prices continue climbing, plateau, or retreat depends on variables that resist easy forecasting: the pace of refinery restarts after spring maintenance, the trajectory of global crude benchmarks, and the strength of summer driving demand. The EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, published monthly, offers price projections, but those forecasts carry wide confidence intervals and are revised frequently.

How refinery restarts and crude markets will shape the next few weeks

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange serve as a leading indicator: when the front-month contract for West Texas Intermediate moves sharply, retail gasoline prices tend to follow within one to two weeks. Refinery utilization rates, also published by the EIA, can signal whether the supply side is recovering from maintenance season or facing new problems.

The 22-cent weekly jump landed just as the country heads into the peak driving months. Whether this spring’s surge becomes a prolonged stretch of $4-plus gasoline or fades as refineries ramp back up is a question that will be answered week by week through May 2026.