Regular gas
$2.42/gal
↑ 12.7% vs 2016
A year-by-year explorer from 2000 to present
America Through the Years
2000–2026
Exploring: 2017
Explore how prices, jobs, housing, sports, entertainment, technology, politics and major events changed across America — one year at a time.
The economy
2017 at a glance
Unemployment
4.4%
↓ 0.5 pp vs 2016
Grocery prices
↓ 0.2%
vs 2016
Inflation
↑ 2.1%
vs 2016
Median rent
$1,012/mo
↑ 3.2% vs 2016
Median earnings
$33,646/yr
↑ 5.2% vs 2016
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: 238.6.
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: 245.1.
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 2017?
History in place
Where this event happened
More details
All events and sources for 2017
January
- Donald Trump is inaugurated as president — Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president and Michael R. Pence as vice president at the U.S. Capitol.
Washington, D.C.. West Front, U.S. Capitol Location ↗ (opens in new tab)
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies ↗ (opens in new tab) - President Trump issues first travel-ban executive order — Executive Order 13769 restricted entry into the United States for certain nationals and suspended the refugee program, prompting immediate litigation and later revisions. Federal Register ↗ (opens in new tab)
February
- Moonlight wins Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards — Moonlight won Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2016.
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) - Senate confirms Betsy DeVos after vice-presidential tie-breaking vote — The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as secretary of education by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. U.S. Senate ↗ (opens in new tab)
March
- Federal Reserve raises target rate to 3/4–1% — The Federal Open Market Committee raised its target for the federal funds rate to 3/4–1 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
April
- Senate confirms Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court — The Senate confirmed Neil M. Gorsuch as an Associate Justice by a 54-45 vote. U.S. Senate ↗ (opens in new tab)
- The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead wins the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead the 2017 prize for Fiction. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Sweat, by Lynn Nottage wins the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Sweat, by Lynn Nottage the 2017 prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
May
- Robert Mueller is appointed special counsel — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation described in the appointment order. U.S. Department of Justice ↗ (opens in new tab)
August
- Unite the Right rally and counterprotests take place in Charlottesville — The Unite the Right rally and counterprotests took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. Violence occurred, and a vehicle attack killed counterprotester Heather Heyer and injured others. U.S. Department of Justice ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Despacito becomes the most-viewed YouTube video ever — "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (featuring Justin Bieber) passed 3 billion YouTube views in August 2017, becoming the platform's most-viewed video ever and the first to reach 4 billion later that year. Forbes ↗ (opens in new tab)
- A total solar eclipse crosses the continental United States — The first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse across the contiguous United States since 1918 drew nationwide observation. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
September
- Cassini ends its Saturn mission — NASA’s Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn’s atmosphere in a planned finale after 13 years orbiting the planet. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
December
- Doug Jones wins Alabama Senate special election — Doug Jones won the special election to fill Alabama's U.S. Senate seat and was sworn in on January 3, 2018. U.S. Senate ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act becomes law — Public Law 115-97 made broad changes to individual and business taxation, including a permanent reduction in the corporate tax rate and temporary changes to many individual provisions. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Federal Reserve raises target rate to 1-1/4–1-1/2% — The Federal Open Market Committee raised its target for the federal funds rate to 1-1/4–1-1/2 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
Date within this year unknown
- Golden State Warriors win the 2017 NBA championship — Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win the 2017 championship. Kevin Durant 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 LI over Falcons in overtime comeback — The New England Patriots overcame a 28-3 second-half deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first Super Bowl decided in overtime.
Houston, Texas. NRG Stadium Location ↗ (opens in new tab)
CBS News ↗ (opens in new tab) - Houston Astros win 2017 World Series over Dodgers — The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 3 to win the franchise's first championship. 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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