If projections are true and a record number of Americans hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, it’s going to be an expensive one.
Drivers will pay an average of $1.34 more per gallon at the pump compared to a year ago, according to as report from Axios.
Gas Buddy reports that the national average price for gas will be $4.48 per gallon on Memorial Day, up from $3.14 a year ago. Still, Axios reports, an estimated 45 million Americans will brave the high prices and travel at least 50 miles over the holiday period, per AAA data.
That’s up from 44.8 million in 2025 and 42.8 million in 2019.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Axios that more than 90% of the price difference is directly tied to the Iran war.
“These states are all paying quite a bit more compared to last year, and it’s very much because of what’s going on with the Strait of Hormuz,” he told the outlet, referencing the ongoing blockade that’s halting ships moving through the Strait. “That’s what happens when the world’s most vital waterway to the shipment of oil becomes a military target.”
According to the report, the last time gas prices were this high over Memorial Day weekend was in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine drove prices up to about $4.61 per gallon. Gas prices later hit their all-time high of $5.02 per gallon on June 14, 2022.
