US gas prices over 40% higher than last year after big jump in May

The pain drivers are feeling at the pump continued into May with the cost of gas rising for the fourth straight month. Prices now sit 42.2% higher than the same time last year, with most of the country experiencing an even larger increase over that time. 

By the numbers:

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Tuesday that the average price for gas in the U.S. rose 38 cents to $4.48 per gallon. While that was a nearly 10% jump over April, it was actually the smallest month-to-month increase since February.

Big picture view:

While West Coast drivers are still paying more – a lot more – than drivers in any of the other six regions the agency tracks, gas prices have actually risen at a much slower rate over the past year, BTS statistics show. 

At $5.59 per gallon, people on the left coast are paying more than a dollar more on average than anyone else, but that price is only 32.2% higher than May 2025 and the only one where the increase was below the national average.

The other side:

At the other end of the spectrum, New England drivers have seen the line graph of gas prices take the sharpest upward turn in the past month, with prices nearly half again higher than last year (49.6%). Here is a region-by-region breakdown of prices in May 2026 and their year-to-year increase:

• West Coast: $5.59 (up 32.2%)
• Central Atlantic: $4.49 (up 44.5%)
• Rocky Mountain: $4.47 (up 43.0%)
• New England: $4.45 (up 49.6%)
• Midwest: $4.39 (up 45.7%)
• Lower Atlantic: $4.14 (up 42.5%)
• Gulf Coast: $3.95 (up 44.5%)

The backstory:

Prior to the four months of skyrocketing gas prices, nearly every region of the country was sitting below the $3 mark. Drivers out west, as usual, paid the most ($3.69), but the next highest was the Central Atlantic region at $2.90 per gallon.

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