--- title: For the First Time Ever, Gas Prices Are Averaging Over $5 in These U.S. Cities description: U.S. gas prices are spiking to historic new highs, with fuel costs reaching over $5 per gallon in San Francisco and other California cities. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true published: '2022-03-03T18:07:58.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T17:19:14.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - Gas prices - News word_count: 438 canonical: https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Gas Prices Sign](https://img.money.com/2022/03/News-Gas-5-Dollars.jpg) Gas prices spiked this week to historic new highs, with the average hitting more than [$5 per gallon](https://money.com/gas-prices-4-dollars-states/) in San Francisco. While some gas stations have already been charging well over $5 a gallon, this is the first time any U.S. city has reached an average higher than $5, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, [tweeted](https://twitter.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/1499390175524311043) on Thursday. According to AAA data, the average price of a regular gallon of gas in the San Francisco area is $5.05 — the highest recorded average ever in the city. The Los Angeles area is also experiencing prices above $5 per gallon, according to AAA, along with some other California cities, including Napa, [San Luis Obispo](https://money.com/next-hot-place-real-estate-realtor-com/), San Rafael and Santa Rosa. Nationally, the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.73, according to AAA data, an increase of nearly 20 cents in one week and roughly $1 higher than last year at this time. AAA [noted](https://gasprices.aaa.com/expensive-oil-pushes-pump-prices-to-new-heights/) on Thursday that of all the states, prices rose the most over the past week in Michigan, which has seen a 39-cent spike in the average price of a gallon of gas, and Indiana, where the average increased by 36 cents. While gasoline prices have been rising for months thanks to [persistent inflation](https://money.com/inflation-outlive-money-retirement/), supply chain snags and heightened demand, the war in Ukraine is adding a [new layer of pressure](https://money.com/gas-prices-russia-ukraine/). Russia is a major global oil supplier, and a series of increasingly severe [sanctions](https://money.com/russia-ukraine-sanctions-inflation/) imposed by the United States and other countries have disrupted the global oil market and pushed prices north of $110 per barrel. Gas prices are closely tied to crude oil prices, meaning that any spikes in that market get passed along to consumers at the pump. President Biden has repeatedly assured Americans that his administration is taking steps to protect consumers from soaring gas prices, but experts say there’s only so much he can do. “Like the U.S. stock market, the oil market responds poorly to volatility,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a [recent statement](https://gasprices.aaa.com/higher-pump-prices-reflect-wars-dark-uncertainties/). “It’s an explosive situation, and a grim reminder that events on the far side of the globe can have a ripple effect for American consumers.” And of course, those supply chain and inflationary pressures still exist, not to mention the fact that gas prices also tend to rise in the warmer months. Given all that, it’s a good bet that $5 gas won’t be limited to just California for much longer. [What the Russia Sanctions Could Mean for Inflation in the U.S.](https://money.com/russia-ukraine-sanctions-inflation/) [Best Car Insurance Companies of 2022](https://money.com/best-auto-insurance/) [The Russia-Ukraine Conflict Could Soon Send Gas Prices Even Higher](https://money.com/gas-prices-russia-ukraine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gas Prices", "item": "https://money.com/gas-prices/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For the First Time Ever, Gas Prices Are Averaging Over $5 in These U.S. Cities" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/", "name": "For the First Time Ever, Gas Prices Are Averaging Over $5 in These U.S. Cities", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-03-03T18:07:58.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/gas-prices-5-gallon-california-cities/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T17:19:14.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "For the First Time Ever, Gas Prices Are Averaging Over $5 in These U.S. Cities", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/03/News-Gas-5-Dollars.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Gas-5-Dollars" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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