--- title: 10 States Where Gas Prices Are Spiking the Highest Due to the Iran War description: 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. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-03-04T21:09:26.000Z' modified: '2026-03-04T21:09:26.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 630 canonical: https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/ 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/). ![Photo-illustration of a gas pump with money coming out. A map of the United States in the background](https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-Iran-War-States-Gas-Prices-Spiking.jpg) As the war pitting Iran against the U.S. and Israel intensifies, [oil prices](https://money.com/iran-war-gold-prices-oil/) 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. "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." [***Vet bills can cost thousands — see what pet insurance might cost you.***](https://money.com/pr/d3007ea468a5?data-trk-company=healthy-paws-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=d3007ea468a5&encoded_id=) 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: 1. **California:** $4.74 per gallon (+10.2 cents) 2. **Hawaii:** $4.42 (+1.2 cents) 3. **Washington:** $4.41 (+5 cents) 4. **Oregon:** $3.99 (+6.7 cents) 5. **Nevada:** $3.83 (+1.3 cents) 6. **Alaska:** $3.67 (+8.7 cents) 7. **Arizona:** $3.49 (+22.1 cents) 8. **Illinois:** $3.32 (+28.7 cents) 9. **Pennsylvania:** $3.30 (+17 cents) 10. **Michigan:** $3.24 (+24.1 cents) [***Still paying for subscriptions you don’t use? See what you could cancel.***](https://money.com/pr/h160ddd2a8b2?data-trk-company=rocket-money-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=h160ddd2a8b2&encoded_id=) ## 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](https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices/) 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%](https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/) 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. [***Grow your investing confidence with expert-selected stock picks.***](https://money.com/pr/ec0103435e5a?data-trk-company=the-motley-fool-review&data-trk-imp=true&data-trk-pcu-type=direct_link&data-trk-pcu-uuid=ec0103435e5a&encoded_id=) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/#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": "10 States Where Gas Prices Are Spiking the Highest Due to the Iran War" } ] }, { "@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/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/", "name": "10 States Where Gas Prices Are Spiking the Highest Due to the Iran War", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-03-04T21:09:26.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/iran-war-gas-prices-highest-10-states/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-03-04T21:09:26.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "10 States Where Gas Prices Are Spiking the Highest Due to the Iran War", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/03/News-Iran-War-States-Gas-Prices-Spiking.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Iran-War-States-Gas-Prices-Spiking" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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