Regular gas
$3.30/gal
↓ 6.1% vs 2023
A year-by-year explorer from 2000 to present
America Through the Years
2000–2026
Exploring: 2024
Explore how prices, jobs, housing, sports, entertainment, technology, politics and major events changed across America — one year at a time.
The economy
2024 at a glance
Unemployment
4.0%
↑ 0.4 pp vs 2023
Grocery prices
↑ 1.2%
vs 2023
Inflation
↑ 2.9%
vs 2023
Median rent
$1,487/mo
↑ 5.8% vs 2023
Median earnings
$46,949/yr
↑ 4.1% vs 2023
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: 306.5.
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: 313.7.
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.
Explore another year
Choose your interests
What happened?
What happened in 2024?
History in place
Where this event happened
More details
All events and sources for 2024
February
- NASA launches the PACE Earth science mission — PACE launched to study ocean health, air quality, and interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
March
- Oppenheimer wins Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards — Oppenheimer won Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2023.
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) - Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 becomes law — Public Law 118-47, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, was approved on March 23, 2024. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
April
- Taylor Swift releases The Tortured Poets Department — Taylor Swift released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, 2024, having announced it two and a half months earlier during her acceptance speech at the 66th Grammy Awards. Two hours after release, it was expanded into a surprise double album subtitled The Anthology. Nylon ↗ (opens in new tab)
May
- New York jury returns guilty verdict in People v. Trump — A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree on May 30, 2024. New York State Unified Court System ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips wins the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips the 2024 prize for Fiction. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Primary Trust, by Eboni Booth wins the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Primary Trust, by Eboni Booth the 2024 prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
June
- Supreme Court decides Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — The Court overruled the Chevron doctrine, holding that courts must exercise independent judgment in deciding whether an agency acted within its statutory authority. Supreme Court of the United States ↗ (opens in new tab)
July
- Supreme Court decides Trump v. United States — The Court held that a former president has absolute immunity for actions within core constitutional authority, presumptive immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts. Supreme Court of the United States ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Attempted assassination at Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — The FBI identified the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania as an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. One attendee was killed and others were injured. Federal Bureau of Investigation ↗ (opens in new tab)
September
- Federal Reserve lowers target rate to 4-3/4–5% — The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate to 4-3/4–5 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
October
- NASA launches Europa Clipper — Europa Clipper launched to investigate whether Jupiter’s moon Europa has conditions suitable for life. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
November
- 2024 presidential election is held — The official Electoral College result was 312 votes for Donald J. Trump and 226 for Kamala D. Harris. National Archives and Records Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
December
- Presidential electors cast 2024 electoral votes — Electors met in their respective states on December 17, 2024 and cast the electoral votes later counted by Congress. National Archives and Records Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Former President Jimmy Carter dies — Former President James Earl Carter Jr. died on December 29, 2024. The National Archives’ presidential document index records the presidential proclamation announcing his death that day. National Archives and Records Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)
- Federal Reserve lowers target rate to 4-1/4–4-1/2% — The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate to 4-1/4–4-1/2 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
Date within this year unknown
- Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA championship — Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win the 2024 championship. Jaylen Brown 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) - Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII over 49ers in overtime — The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to win back-to-back championships.
Las Vegas, Nevada. Allegiant Stadium Location ↗ (opens in new tab)
CBS News ↗ (opens in new tab) - Los Angeles Dodgers win 2024 World Series over Yankees — The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4 games to 1 to win the franchise's eighth 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.
Make your next decision with more context
Turn research into a decision
Exploring how prices, jobs and life have changed can help put today's choices in perspective. Data Driven Decision Kits organize the numbers, tradeoffs and questions that matter when you're making an important decision.
Browse Decision Kits →One-time purchase · Unlimited use · Data-backed estimates · Personalized results
