Regular gas
$2.43/gal
↓ 27.7% vs 2014
A year-by-year explorer from 2000 to present
America Through the Years
2000–2026
Exploring: 2015
Explore how prices, jobs, housing, sports, entertainment, technology, politics and major events changed across America — one year at a time.
The economy
2015 at a glance
Unemployment
5.3%
↓ 0.9 pp vs 2014
Grocery prices
↑ 1.2%
vs 2014
Inflation
↑ 0.1%
vs 2014
Median rent
$959/mo
↑ 2.7% vs 2014
Median earnings
$31,394/yr
↑ 1.8% vs 2014
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: 242.3.
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: 237.0.
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 2015?
History in place
Where this event happened
More details
All events and sources for 2015
January
- Mitch McConnell becomes Senate majority leader — With Republicans holding the Senate majority in the 114th Congress, Mitch McConnell became majority leader and Harry Reid became minority leader. U.S. Senate ↗ (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
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) wins Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards — Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) won Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2014.
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) - Morning Phase wins Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammys — Beck won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Morning Phase. Recording Academy ↗ (opens in new tab)
- NASA and partners launch DSCOVR — DSCOVR launched to monitor solar wind and provide full-disk views of Earth. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
April
- All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr wins the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr the 2015 prize for Fiction. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Between Riverside and Crazy, by Stephen Adly Guirgis wins the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Between Riverside and Crazy, by Stephen Adly Guirgis the 2015 prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
May
- Mayweather beats Pacquiao to unify welterweight titles — Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, improving to 48-0 and unifying the WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight titles in one of the most anticipated bouts in boxing history. All three judges scored the fight for Mayweather, who won eight of twelve rounds on each card. Bleacher Report ↗ (opens in new tab)
June
- USA FREEDOM Act becomes law — Public Law 114-23 revised surveillance authorities, including changes to the bulk collection of telephone metadata under Section 215. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Supreme Court decides King v. Burwell — The Court held that Affordable Care Act tax credits were available to eligible individuals in states using the federally facilitated insurance exchange. Oyez ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Supreme Court decides Obergefell v. Hodges — The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize marriages between two people of the same sex. Oyez ↗ (opens in new tab)
July
- Iran nuclear agreement is announced — The United States, other P5+1 countries, the European Union, and Iran reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran's nuclear program. U.S. Department of State Archive ↗ (opens in new tab)
- New Horizons makes the first flyby of Pluto — NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft returned the first close-up observations of Pluto and its moons. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
October
- Paul Ryan becomes Speaker of the House — The House elected Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin as Speaker after John Boehner left the office. U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives ↗ (opens in new tab)
November
- Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 becomes law — Public Law 114-74 raised the debt limit through a specified period, adjusted spending caps, and made other budget and program changes. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
December
- Every Student Succeeds Act becomes law — Public Law 114-95 reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replaced major provisions of No Child Left Behind. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Federal Reserve raises target rate to 1/4–1/2% — The Federal Open Market Committee raised its target for the federal funds rate to 1/4–1/2 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
Date within this year unknown
- Golden State Warriors win the 2015 NBA championship — Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 in the NBA Finals to win the 2015 championship. Andre Iguodala 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 England Patriots win Super Bowl XLIX over Seahawks — The New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 after Seattle threw a goal-line interception in the final minute.
Glendale, Arizona. University of Phoenix Stadium Location ↗ (opens in new tab)
CBS News ↗ (opens in new tab) - Kansas City Royals win 2015 World Series over Mets — The Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 4 games to 1 to win the franchise's first championship since 1985. 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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