Are gasoline prices at a 20-year low? It depends on how you measure it

In the middle of Memorial Day weekend — the traditional start of the summer travel season — the U.S. Energy Department posted a celebratory message online.

"Promises made, promises kept: U.S. retail gasoline prices heading into Memorial Day weekend: 20 year low!" the May 25 X post said.

The department’s claim follows instances of President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent exaggerating how low gasoline prices have been during Trump’s second term.

It’s partially accurate but leaves out some important details.

Late May gasoline retail prices are nowhere near the lowest per gallon in the previous 20 years. But by adjusting for inflation and income, the administration’s statement is more credible. 

The Energy Department did not respond to an inquiry for this article. But the department’s post mirrored a May 20 article in the conservative outlet Breitbart, headlined, "Promises Made, Promises Kept: Memorial Day Set For Lowest Gas Prices in Over 20 Years."

The article said: "Americans celebrating Memorial Day by hitting the road will likely be paying the cheapest gas prices since 2003. GasBuddy, a fuel savings platform, said Tuesday that it forecasts the national average price of gasoline to be $3.08 per gallon on Memorial Day. That would make it the cheapest since 2021 in nominal terms. After adjusting for inflation, it would be the lowest since 2003."

The Energy Department’s post glossed over one of the nuances included in the Breitbart article, that the figure cited in the story was adjusted for inflation.

Late May gasoline retail prices were lower than now in 11 other years going back to 2005

The latest figure from the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration shows the national average gasoline price per gallon at $3.17 during the week beginning May 19. The prices at similar dates in late May were lower than now in 11 other years going back to 2005: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. In the other nine years going back to 2005, the price per gallon was higher than it is now.

Featured Fact-check

Scott Bessent

stated on May 18, 2025 in remarks on NBC's "Meet the Press"

“Gasoline prices have collapsed under President Trump."

How inflation and income trends change historic gas prices outlook

In the past at PolitiFact, we refrained from applying a standard inflation adjustment to gasoline prices, because gasoline prices are themselves a notable component of overall inflation, which skews the adjustment. Instead, we’ve calculated what percentage of Americans’ weekly per capita disposable income — unadjusted for inflation — is required to purchase 10 gallons of gasoline.

During the first quarter of 2025, buying 10 gallons of gasoline took 2.53% of weekly disposable income. (That’s the last period for which income data is available, but the price of gasoline has not changed wildly since the end of the first quarter.) That’s the smallest percentage required since 2002 — when it was 2.49% — with one exception, 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic left the economy at a near-standstill, with little travel and commuting.

That’s a 23-year low, not counting 2020. Going back even further to 1992, we find only four years when the percentage was lower than it was in late May: 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2020.

Our ruling

The Energy Department posted, "U.S. retail gasoline prices heading into Memorial Day weekend: 20 year low!"

In nominal terms, prices per gallon today aren’t anywhere near the lowest in two decades. But as a percentage of disposable income, the price of 10 gallons of gasoline is at its second lowest level since 2002 — 23 years ago. The only year lower was the pandemic year of 2020, when travel and commuting were at historically low levels.

The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details, so we rate it Half True.