# Cost of gas change since you started driving **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461 "2004-05-22T00:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/1 "2004-05-22T00:55:38Z")
That’s it. A poll of sorts. I’m curious what people pay per gallon now compared to what they paid when they started driving. I started driving in 1995 (I got my license in 1997). I remember paying about 86-89 cents a gallon at the get-go. Now I’m paying about $1.96 give or take. That’s a difference of $1.10, and over a 100% increase in less than 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/2 "2004-05-22T01:09:25Z")
I started driving in '96 and was paying between $.98 - $1.02 a gallon (less than ten bucks to fill the tank!). Now I’m paying $2.35 and it cost me $33 yesterday for a fill-up of regular ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/3 "2004-05-22T01:29:17Z")
As I’m sure you know, gasoline is a commodity whose price is highly volatile so there’s not a steady continuum. While the OP remembers prices of 86-89¢ in 1995, in 1983 the average price per gallon was $1.28 in 1983 dollars. That’s ~$2.36 in 2003 dollars. That being said, I remember gasoline first hitting $1 a gallon in the late '70s. When I started driving in 1967, pre-embargo, gasoline was, IIRC, ~18¢ a gallon. Four or five deposit soda bottles (long since gone from Texas) had us up and running for the evening. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/4 "2004-05-22T02:02:32Z")
I got my license in 1971 – gas was, IIRC, $.27/gallon ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/5 "2004-05-22T02:04:52Z")
I started driving in 1981. Gas was about $1.36 a gallon (for leaded, no less). Now, I pay $1.99 a gallon. That’s a pretty big jump, but consider this: in 1981, minimum wage was $3.25 an hour (in the state of Maryland), so after working an hour, you could afford about 2 and a half gallons of gas. Now, minimum wage here is $5.35 an hour, so after working an hour, you can afford closer to 3 gallons of gas. So, as terrible as it seems, it’s not really worse than when I started driving. Oh, yeah, plus in those days I drove a big ol’ '72 Ford Torino, which got about 11 miles to the gallon, and now I drive a mini van that gets about 21 miles to the gallon. So it’s really a lot better. I have to keep reminding myself of that. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/6 "2004-05-22T02:41:45Z")
I got my license in '99 and for a short time the gas prices were about a dollar a gallon. So they’ve doubled in five years. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/7 "2004-05-22T02:42:59Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I got my license in 1971 – gas was, IIRC, $.27/gallon Yup. When I was a senior in high school (1970), I remember when gas started going up … from .29/gallon. It was shocking when it first went over .30/gallon. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/8 "2004-05-22T02:48:34Z")
I got my license in 1993. I seem to recall gas prices being $1.11 in the non-tourist months, and $1.21 during the summer tourist season. frickin’ tourists…Boy, can’t wait for Memorial day, you bet. Anyway, **today** the average gas price for regular unleaded is about $2.05. It’ll be higher tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/9 "2004-05-22T03:05:55Z")
I, too, remember the gas wars of the '70’s. Gas was around $.25 a gallon. Today, gas at my local gas station is $2.20/gallon. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/10 "2004-05-22T03:17:31Z")
I got my license in 1993 gas was at $.89 a gallon, when I was a senior in high school ( 1995 ) I worked at a gas station and remember people getting pissed at me ( like I had any control over the costs ) when gas hit $1.25 a gallon. Just today we hit 2.00 a gallon here in town. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/11 "2004-05-22T03:19:27Z")
I started driving in July of 1979. My first purchase of gas was $.94. Today it is between $1.89 and $2.09 depending on where you stop. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/12 "2004-05-22T03:20:58Z")
> [@misstee](#): > > I got my license in 1993 gas was at $.89 a gallon… That should read - When I got … ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/13 "2004-05-22T04:58:43Z")
I got my license in Dec. of '98. My first tank of gas cost me $1.05. It did drop to about .98 the following summer. I just paid $1.98 this morning. Last week, I paid $2.05 at the same gas station. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/14 "2004-05-22T05:14:13Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > I got my license in Dec. of '98. My first tank of gas cost me $1.05. Holy cow, only a dollar for an entire tank of gas? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/15 "2004-05-22T13:13:59Z")
I got my license in 1954; IIRC, gas was around 21 cents per gallon. I’ve seen gas as low as 17 cents per gallon during price wars. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/16 "2004-05-22T13:41:10Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I got my license in 1954; IIRC, gas was around 21 cents per gallon. I’ve seen gas as low as 17 cents per gallon during price wars. ‘54? Damn, **LouisB** you are like, um, _ancient_, ya’ know? 😉 I didn’t get my license until much later than that, in 1958. Same range of gas prices, 17 cents during price wars or at off-brand stations, with the norm being in the low 20’s. My uncle worked in the oil production business, and I remember him once saying that the price of crude oil was $3 per barrel. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/17 "2004-05-22T14:28:30Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I started driving in 1981. Gas was about $1.36 a gallon (for leaded, no less). Now, I pay $1.99 a gallon. That’s a pretty big jump, but consider this: in 1981, minimum wage was $3.25 an hour (in the state of Maryland), … 😛 Well, I’m glad **norinew** is here to remind me, because I also started driving in 1981, I had couldn’t remember what gas cost back then. I do remember sometimes chipping in a buck each when going out with friends who drove a lot (and whose parents made them fill the tank for the privilege of driving). I’m paying just over $2.00 in suburban Baltimore; it’s about 2.11 or 2.13 (depending on where you go) for the mid-grade stuff, which is what I’ve always used in my Saturn (sheep-like explantion: because the owner’s manual says to), but I recently started putting the low-grade in, since it’s cheaper. I get pretty good mileage, but I’ve stopped using the A/C, because it uses up the gas so much quicker. ---
**Author:** ![jormundgondir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@jormundgondir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jormundgondir)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/18 "2004-05-22T15:17:54Z")
Holy cow, man, I guess it’s from living in Hawaii as a teenager, but when I started driving in 1988, basic unleaded was about $1.70 a gallon. Now in the Bay Area, it’s up to $2.30 at the Costco. Color me untraumatized 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/19 "2004-05-22T15:42:04Z")
I rode motorcycles long before I was old enough for a license. In the desert, or on rural roads in the 1970s the cops generally didn’t hassle you if you were riding okay. Anyway, I used to carry 50 cents in my toolbox in case I needed to buy a gallon of petrol. Regular was $0.499/gal. By the time I was driving a car and had a license, it was up to $0.659/gal. ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461/20 "2004-05-22T17:43:20Z")
When I first began driving, I remember paying 89 cents for gas. This was in 1999. I filled up yesterday at $1.89/gallon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-gas-change-since-you-started-driving/246461.md?page=2)