Gas prices are high… but still lower than the 1970s

SALT LAKE CITY — Filling gas tanks is hurting bank accounts once again, but it’s not the first time a jump in prices has happened in the nation.

Wednesday’s national average gas price is $3.803.

“It’s dumb,” said Utah resident Brecken, summing up the feelings of many when driving by signs with prices over $4.

This increasing price is hitting Utah residents especially hard with a state-wide average of $4.05.

Gas prices taking a toll

Resident Heather Chatwin says these high prices are the opposite of being consumer-friendly.

“I’ve got two cars at the gas pumps right now,” she said. “One of them is diesel and one of them is regular, and it just is killing me.”

While high prices give drivers a tough bill to swallow, U.S. citizens in 1978 were having to face a similar price.

During the Carter administration in 1978, the national average gas price was $0.65.

Under a dollar for a gallon of gas seems much better than what Americans have been paying over the last two years. However, when adjusted for 2023 inflation, the 1978 price jumps to $3.98.

That’s 18 cents higher than today’s national average price.

“I think they use it too much. It’s been used as a political ball, it just gets ridiculous,” resident Clark Jenkins said.

Read more:

• Gas prices continue to soar in the West, now over $4 a gallon in Utah
• Utah gas prices rising, among most expensive in the country
• Gas prices will continue to drop in 2023, according to price watchers