Regular gas
$3.62/gal
↑ 2.8% vs 2011
A year-by-year explorer from 2000 to present
America Through the Years
2000–2026
Exploring: 2012
Explore how prices, jobs, housing, sports, entertainment, technology, politics and major events changed across America — one year at a time.
The economy
2012 at a glance
Unemployment
8.1%
↓ 0.9 pp vs 2011
Grocery prices
↑ 2.5%
vs 2011
Inflation
↑ 2.1%
vs 2011
Median rent
$884/mo
↑ 1.5% vs 2011
Median earnings
$30,155/yr
↑ 2.1% vs 2011
Show KPI details
Regular gas
U.S. average annual retail price for one gallon of regular gasoline, all formulations. Annual figure published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Source: EIA ↗ (opens in new tab)Unemployment
Average U.S. unemployment rate for the year, calculated as the mean of the published monthly Current Population Survey unemployment rates.
Source: BLS ↗ (opens in new tab)Grocery prices
Year-over-year movement in the BLS Food at Home Consumer Price Index. Underlying CPI index: 231.8.
Source: BLS ↗ (opens in new tab)Inflation
Year-over-year change in the U.S. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items. Underlying CPI index: 229.6.
Source: BLS ↗ (opens in new tab)Median rent
Median gross monthly rent for occupied rental housing units. Annual ACS 1-year estimates begin in 2005.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS ↗ (opens in new tab)Median earnings
Median annual earnings measure from the American Community Survey. Annual ACS 1-year estimates begin in 2005.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS ↗ (opens in new tab)What is CPI?
CPI is an index used to track how consumer prices change over time. The reference period 1982–84 equals 100. A value such as 177.1 is an index level, not a dollar amount or an inflation rate.
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What happened?
What happened in 2012?
History in place
Where this event happened
More details
All events and sources for 2012
January
- Supreme Court decides United States v. Jones — The Court held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and using it to monitor the vehicle's movements constituted a search under the Fourth Amendment. Oyez ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Federal Reserve holds target rate at 0–1/4% — The Federal Open Market Committee kept its target for the federal funds rate at 0–1/4 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
February
- The Artist wins Best Picture at the 2012 Academy Awards — The Artist won Best Picture at the 2012 Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2011.
Annual Entertainment anchor event for the America Since 2000 timeline, sourced to the Academy’s official ceremony archive.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ↗ (opens in new tab) - Whitney Houston dies at age 48 — Whitney Houston died on February 11, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, an accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors, the night before a pre-Grammy party where she was expected to perform. History.com ↗ (opens in new tab)
April
- STOCK Act becomes law — Public Law 112-105 applied insider-trading rules and financial-disclosure requirements to members and employees of Congress and other federal officials. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Water by the Spoonful, by Quiara Alegría Hudes wins the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Water by the Spoonful, by Quiara Alegría Hudes the 2012 prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Life on Mars, by Tracy K. Smith wins the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Life on Mars, by Tracy K. Smith the 2012 prize for Poetry. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
June
- DHS announces Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy — A Department of Homeland Security memorandum announced the DACA policy, providing a case-by-case process for certain people who came to the United States as children to request deferred action. U.S. Department of Homeland Security ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Supreme Court decides NFIB v. Sebelius — The Court upheld the Affordable Care Act's individual-coverage requirement as a valid exercise of Congress's taxing power while limiting the Medicaid expansion remedy. Oyez ↗ (opens in new tab)
August
- Curiosity rover lands on Mars — NASA’s Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater using the mission’s sky crane system. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
October
- SpaceX launches NASA’s first contracted commercial cargo mission — SpaceX CRS-1 launched the first operational Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
November
- Barack Obama wins reelection — Barack Obama won a second term with 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney's 206. National Archives and Records Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
December
- Magnitsky human-rights sanctions legislation becomes law — Public Law 112-208 included the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, authorizing sanctions against certain persons connected to specified human-rights abuses in Russia. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Federal Reserve holds target rate at 0–1/4% — The Federal Open Market Committee kept its target for the federal funds rate at 0–1/4 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
Date within this year unknown
- Miami Heat win the 2012 NBA championship — Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win the 2012 championship. LeBron James was named Finals MVP.
Annual Sports anchor event for the America Since 2000 timeline. The championship, runner-up, series result, and Finals MVP are sourced from NBA.com history archives.
NBA.com ↗ (opens in new tab) NBA.com ↗ (opens in new tab) - New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI over Patriots — The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17, the second time in five years the Giants denied the Patriots a championship.
Indianapolis, Indiana. Lucas Oil Stadium Location ↗ (opens in new tab)
CBS News ↗ (opens in new tab) - San Francisco Giants win 2012 World Series over Tigers — The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 0 to win the franchise's second championship in three seasons. MLB.com ↗ (opens in new tab)
What changed?
How have regular gas prices changed since 2000?
Only years with a verified figure are plotted; a gap in the line means no verified value exists in between, not zero change.
REGULAR GAS
U.S. average retail price per gallon
Not enough historical observations to display this comparison.
REGULAR GAS
Average value per decade, from verified years only.
Not enough historical observations to summarize by decade.
REGULAR GAS · ANNUAL VALUES
| Year | Value | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $1.136 | — |
| 2000 | $1.484 | — |
| 2001 | $1.420 | — |
| 2002 | $1.345 | — |
| 2003 | $1.561 | — |
| 2004 | $1.852 | — |
| 2005 | $2.270 | — |
| 2006 | $2.572 | — |
| 2007 | $2.796 | — |
| 2008 | $3.246 | — |
| 2009 | $2.353 | — |
| 2010 | $2.782 | — |
| 2011 | $3.521 | — |
| 2012 | $3.618 | — |
| 2013 | $3.505 | — |
| 2014 | $3.358 | — |
| 2015 | $2.429 | — |
| 2016 | $2.143 | — |
| 2017 | $2.415 | — |
| 2018 | $2.719 | — |
| 2019 | $2.604 | — |
| 2020 | $2.168 | — |
| 2021 | $3.008 | — |
| 2022 | $3.951 | — |
| 2023 | $3.519 | — |
| 2024 | $3.304 | — |
| 2025 | $3.097 | — |
| 2026 | $4.058 | — |
Want to compare the numbers directly? Compare two years →
About these figures
Economic figures come from official U.S. government sources (BLS, EIA, and Census); historical events come from Data Driven Tech's reviewed content collection. Every figure and every event links to its original public source. Where a source has not yet published a figure for a given year, that is stated directly rather than estimated.
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