After more than four months of war, does your wallet feel lighter?
Since the Iran war started, Americans have spent an additional $40 billion on gasoline, according to a Brown University estimate. Increased gas prices have resulted in higher monthly expenses for individuals — anywhere from less than $20 to more than $300 for a driver who fills up twice a month, according to an NBC News analysis of motor club AAA’s average national gas price data.
Just how much has the spike in gas prices bitten into your budget? Use our calculator to estimate your additional expenses at the pump since the start of the war. The calculator updates with the latest data daily.
The cost model used in the calculator uses a sample of the average daily gas price in the United States since the start of the war, simulating how gas prices vary depending on which day you fuel up. The results you get will fall in a range of average costs and change slightly as you use the tool.
Since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran, average gas prices nationally have risen more than 30%.
U.S. gas prices in early May were among the most expensive those prices had been in the past decade at an average of $4.63 per gallon, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average gas price last topped $4 in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Faced with higher prices, some Americans are driving less, or at least filling up less often. An analysis by the location analytics company Placer.ai found gas station visits across the U.S. were down 5.7% the week of May 18, compared with the corresponding week in May 2025.
At the state level, an NBC News analysis finds Utah residents are feeling the greatest strain since the start of the war, with gas prices up about 50% since February, averaging $4.30 per gallon as of early August.
Montana and Wisconsin, in addition to Utah, have experienced the highest rates of change, with prices up about 50% from five months ago. Washington state’s gas prices have remained the most resilient, up less than 20% — about 75 cents — since February.
To alleviate pain at the pump, some states have paused their gas taxes or postponed increases. Members of the Trump administration discussed pausing the federal gas tax, but they have yet to act on the initiative.
Methodology
This is how the NBC News gas cost calculator estimates the added costs:
- The calculator inputs the number of gallons in a refueling and the number of fill-ups per month, as provided by the reader, as well as average daily national gas prices from Feb. 28 to today.
- Based on the number of fill-ups, particular days’ per-gallon prices are sampled, reflecting how often a person may be going to the pump (every 10 days, 15 days, 30 days, etc.).
- The extra costs are calculated by subtracting the Feb. 28 per-gallon price from the average of the sampled prices. The result is then multiplied by the number of fill-ups and multiplied again by the number of gallons in the gas tank.
Data is sourced from AAA’s daily posted national gas price averages and dates to Feb. 28. It updates with new daily numbers each morning.
