Gas Just Hit $4 Again. Here's What the Last Shock Cost.

U.S. regular gasoline, weekly average price per gallon

The national picture

On February 21, 2022, the week Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the national average price of regular gasoline stood at $3.53 per gallon. Sixteen weeks later, it hit $5.01 - a 42% increase that touched every state and every household that relied on a car.

The spike was not a blip. Prices remained above $4.00 for nearly five months, from mid-March through mid-August. By fall, they had receded - but never back to where they started. The 2022 annual average settled well above 2021 levels in every state, and for most Americans the pain was measured not in daily headlines but in monthly credit card statements.

By 2023, prices had fallen from their 2022 peak but never returned to 2021 levels. The war-era shock embedded itself into a new baseline, compounded by refinery constraints, OPEC production decisions, and state-level tax changes.

Where prices jumped the fastest

New England dominated the percentage increases from 2021 to 2022. Massachusetts led the nation at 36.1%, followed closely by Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Six New England states appeared in the top seven for percentage price growth.

The pattern reflects New England's unique fuel market: heavy reliance on waterborne imports, limited refining capacity, and higher baseline taxes. When global crude prices surged, these structural factors amplified the shock.

Where gas was most expensive in 2022

Alaska and Hawaii topped the list at $5.55 per gallon - reflecting the logistical costs of fuel delivery to non-contiguous states. California followed at $5.15, driven by state taxes, environmental regulations, and a concentrated refinery market.

Western states dominated the upper tier. Washington, Oregon, and Nevada all averaged above $4.80, while much of the Southeast and Gulf Coast remained under $4.00 thanks to proximity to refineries and lower state fuel taxes.

Where drivers paid the most extra

On a per-driver basis, Alaska led the nation at $736 in extra gasoline spending in 2022 compared to 2021. Iowa and Nevada followed. The per-driver metric shifts the picture dramatically: states with fewer licensed drivers but large price jumps rise to the top.

California's total extra spending was the highest in the country by a wide margin, but its per-driver figure was mid-range - diluted by the sheer number of licensed drivers in the state. Total spending and per-capita burden tell very different stories.

Total extra gasoline spending in 2022 vs 2021, top 15 states (billions)

What stuck by 2023

Prices fell from their 2022 peak, but they did not return to pre-invasion levels. In many states, 2023 annual averages remained 15-30% above 2021. Washington held the largest lingering premium at +29.1%, followed by Alaska at +21.9%. The states that spiked the most in 2022 were often the same ones where prices stayed elevated longest.

Not all of the 2023 premium is attributable to the war. General inflation, refining capacity changes, state tax adjustments, and OPEC production decisions all contributed. But the invasion created a step-change in energy costs that, for many states, never fully reversed.

The simplest takeaway

Russia's invasion of Ukraine added roughly $123 billion to American gasoline spending in a single year. That cost was not evenly distributed. It fell harder on states with fewer refineries, longer supply chains, higher baseline taxes, and more miles driven per capita.

The geography of energy vulnerability is not random. It follows infrastructure, policy, and consumption patterns that predate the war by decades. The 2022 shock did not create those disparities - it revealed them at a scale that every driver could feel at the pump.