- The average American household spent $2,645 on gasoline and other fuels in 2024, about $220 per month or $7.25 per day.
- Gasoline accounts for 3.4% of total household expenditures and nearly 20% of all transportation spending.
- Fuel spending peaked at $2,805 in 2022. The 2024 figure is more than double the $1,291 households spent in 2000.
- BLS's gasoline-only line, which averaged $2,411 per household, totaled $327 billion across 135.8 million households in 2024.
01 Introduction
The average American household spent $2,645 on gasoline and other fuels in 2024, about $220 per month, or roughly 3.4% of total household spending. Gasoline is one of the largest recurring expenses in the average American household, yet it is often overlooked in personal budgeting because it is paid in small, frequent increments. For the full breakdown of what driving costs in America, see our overview. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey tracks exactly what households spend across every category, providing a precise picture of fuel costs.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), published annually. Covers approximately 135.8 million consumer units (households) in 2024.This article examines 25 years of household fuel spending data from the BLS, showing how gasoline costs have fluctuated over time. All figures represent the average across all U.S. consumer units, including households that do not own vehicles (which pulls the average down from what a typical driver actually pays).
BLS CEX methodology: a "consumer unit" includes families, single persons, and other sharing units. 89% of consumer units owned at least one vehicle in 2024.02 Household Fuel Spending: 2000 to 2024
Annual household gasoline spending has more than doubled since 2000, rising from $1,291 to $2,645 in 2024. The path was volatile: spending reached $2,715 in 2008, fell to $1,568 in 2020, then rose to an all time high of $2,805 in 2022.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2000 to 2024: gasoline and motor oil / gasoline and other fuels category| Year | Gas Spending | % of Budget | % of Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,291 | 3.4% | 2.9% |
| 2004 | $1,598 | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| 2008 | $2,715 | 5.4% | 4.3% |
| 2012 | $2,756 | 5.4% | 4.2% |
| 2016 | $1,909 | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| 2020 | $1,568 | 2.6% | 1.9% |
| 2022 | $2,805 | 3.8% | 3.0% |
| 2024 | $2,645 | 3.4% | 2.5% |
Estimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator03 Gasoline Spending by Year
For readers looking for a specific year, the table below lists average annual household gasoline spending for every year from 2000 through 2024, alongside its share of the total household budget and of pre tax income.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2000 to 2024. "% of Budget" = gasoline / total expenditures. "% of Income" = gasoline / pre tax income.| Year | Gas Spending | % of Budget | % of Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,291 | 3.4% | 2.9% |
| 2001 | $1,279 | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| 2002 | $1,235 | 3.0% | 2.5% |
| 2003 | $1,333 | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| 2004 | $1,598 | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| 2005 | $2,013 | 4.3% | 3.4% |
| 2006 | $2,227 | 4.6% | 3.7% |
| 2007 | $2,384 | 4.8% | 3.8% |
| 2008 | $2,715 | 5.4% | 4.3% |
| 2009 | $1,986 | 4.0% | 3.2% |
| 2010 | $2,132 | 4.4% | 3.4% |
| 2011 | $2,655 | 5.3% | 4.2% |
| 2012 | $2,756 | 5.4% | 4.2% |
| 2013 | $2,611 | 5.1% | 4.1% |
| 2014 | $2,468 | 4.6% | 3.7% |
| 2015 | $2,090 | 3.7% | 3.0% |
| 2016 | $1,909 | 3.3% | 2.6% |
| 2017 | $1,968 | 3.3% | 2.7% |
| 2018 | $2,109 | 3.4% | 2.7% |
| 2019 | $2,094 | 3.3% | 2.5% |
| 2020 | $1,568 | 2.6% | 1.9% |
| 2021 | $1,948 | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| 2022 | $2,805 | 3.8% | 3.0% |
| 2023 | $2,694 | 3.5% | 2.6% |
| 2024 | $2,645 | 3.4% | 2.5% |
04 Fuel as a Share of the Household Budget
Gasoline as a share of total household spending has ranged from a low of 2.6% in 2020 to a high of 5.4% in 2008 and 2012. In 2024, gasoline and other fuels accounted for 3.4% of the average household budget, below the 2000 to 2024 average of 3.9%.
BLS CEX 2000 to 2024. Total average annual expenditures grew from $38,045 (2000) to $78,535 (2024).As a share of pre tax income, gasoline peaked at 4.3% in 2008, meaning the average household spent more than one dollar out of every 25 on fuel alone. By 2024, that share had fallen to 2.5%, as incomes grew faster than fuel spending.
BLS CEX 2024: average pre tax income $104,207; gasoline spending $2,645 = 2.5% of incomeGasoline spending is also a regressive cost: it takes a far larger share of income from lower-income households than from higher-income ones, since fuel needs don't scale down proportionally with income the way many other expenses do. BLS's income-quintile breakdown for 2022 shows households in the lowest income quintile spending 10.9% of their income on gasoline ($1,553 mean spending against $14,191 mean income before taxes), versus just 1.9% for the highest quintile ($4,601 against $244,025), nearly a 6-to-1 gap.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 1101: "Quintiles of income before taxes," 2022. Gasoline category: "Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil." Income share calculated: gasoline mean ÷ income-before-taxes mean, by quintile.The same regressive pattern holds, and gets even larger, once the full transportation budget is counted rather than gasoline alone. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that in 2024, households in the lowest income quintile spent 30.6% of their before-tax income on transportation ($5,105 in total transportation spending), compared to just 9.6% for the highest income quintile ($25,378), more than a 3-to-1 gap in burden even though the highest quintile spends nearly five times as many actual dollars.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2025, Section 2.6, "Cost of Travel to Households," citing BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2024. This is total transportation spending (vehicle purchases, fuel, insurance, maintenance, transit, etc.), not gasoline alone, so it is not directly comparable to the 10.9%/1.9% gasoline-only figures above, both are real, just measuring different slices of the household budget.05 The Full Transportation Budget
Transportation is the second largest spending category for American households after housing, consuming $13,318 or 17.0% of total expenditures in 2024. Gasoline represents roughly one fifth of that transportation budget at $2,645.
BLS CEX 2024: total transportation expenditures $13,318 = 17.0% of $78,535 total expenditures| Category | Annual Cost | % of Transport | % of Total Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Purchases (net) | $5,337 | 40.1% | 6.8% |
| Gasoline and Other Fuels | $2,645 | 19.9% | 3.4% |
| Vehicle Insurance | $1,993 | 15.0% | 2.5% |
| Public and Other Transit | $1,131 | 8.5% | 1.4% |
| Maintenance and Repairs | $984 | 7.4% | 1.3% |
| Rental, Leases, Licenses | $811 | 6.1% | 1.0% |
| Vehicle Finance Charges | $418 | 3.1% | 0.5% |
| Total Transportation | $13,318 | 100% | 17.0% |
For the year-by-year history of insurance spending, including the 2019 change in how BLS measures it, see the average car insurance cost by year.
06 Gas Prices Drive Spending
Household gasoline spending follows the price of fuel closely. When gasoline prices rise, spending usually rises, and when prices fall, spending usually falls. The chart below indexes both to 2000 levels. The correlation between the two annual series over 2000 to 2024 is 0.96.
BLS CEX gasoline spending 2000 to 2024; EIA Annual Average Regular Gasoline Prices 2000 to 2024This tight correlation has an important implication: vehicle fuel economy and miles driven matter, but price volatility is the factor most households cannot control. This is why fuel cost calculators that use your actual MPG and local gas price provide the most accurate personal estimate.
EPA, The 2025 Automotive Trends Report (EPA-420-R-26-001), Table 2.1: real-world fleet MPG improved from 19.3 (MY2004) to 27.2 (MY2024), a 41% gain, partially offsetting price increasesEstimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator07 Data Sources
Every data point in this article comes from a U.S. government source. No proprietary, estimated, or third party data was used.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), 2000 to 2024. Annual average expenditures for all consumer units. Series: gasoline and motor oil / gasoline and other fuels, total transportation, total expenditures, pre tax income.
- BLS CEX 2024 Detailed Tables. Transportation budget breakdown: vehicle purchases, gasoline, insurance, public transit, maintenance, rental/leases/licenses, finance charges.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Annual average retail gasoline prices (regular grade), 2000 to 2025. Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices survey.
- BLS CEX Series CXU470111LB0101M. Gasoline spending detail: aggregate national totals, share of expenditures, percentage of consumer units reporting.
- BLS CEX Table 1101. "Quintiles of income before taxes: Annual expenditure means, shares, standard errors, and relative standard errors," 2022. bls.gov/cex/tables.htm
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2025, Section 2.6, "Cost of Travel to Households" (total transportation spending by income quintile, 2024).