Quick Answer
Between late February and late May 2026, the AAA national average for regular gasoline rose from $2.98 to $4.56 a gallon — a 53% spike driven by the conflict-related disruption of Strait of Hormuz oil shipments. By early July, prices had partly reversed to around $3.80 following a US-Iran interim agreement. Through all of that volatility, the national average price of public EV charging barely moved, holding at roughly 41 cents per kWh.
That gap between a fuel price that can swing 53% in ten weeks and one that didn't move at all is not a talking point. It is a real difference in how predictable your monthly driving cost is, and it lands at the same moment the federal home charger tax credit expired.
Written by Morgan Ellis, Editor at GearUp Insights | About the Editor | Last reviewed: July 2026
Why This Matters
Most ownership-cost comparisons treat gas and electricity as two numbers you plug into a spreadsheet once. They are not the same kind of number. Gasoline prices are exposed to global crude markets, shipping routes, and geopolitical risk. Electricity prices, especially for home charging, are set by regulated utilities and move on a completely different, much slower timescale.
That difference doesn't show up until something like this spring happens — and then it shows up all at once, on every fill-up.
| 53% | Gas price increase from Feb. 26 to May 21, 2026 (AAA national average) |
| 41¢/kWh | National average public EV charging price, unchanged through the volatility |
| $3.80 | AAA national gas average as of early July 2026, after partial reversal |
The Ten-Week Round Trip
According to AAA's weekly fuel price tracking, the national average for regular gasoline was $2.98 a gallon on February 26, 2026. As conflict in the Middle East disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, crude prices climbed and pump prices followed: $3.98 by March 26, and a peak of $4.56 by May 21 — a 53% increase in under three months. Several states saw far sharper spikes; California topped $5.84 a gallon in late March.
By early June, an interim US-Iran agreement began easing shipping disruptions through the Strait, and crude prices fell accordingly. AAA's national average dropped to $3.95 by June 25 and roughly $3.80 by the July 4 weekend — a partial reversal, but still meaningfully above the $2.98 starting point in February.
Over that same stretch, AAA's own companion tracking of public EV charging prices recorded no comparable movement. The national average held at 41 cents per kWh through the worst of the gas price spike and into the partial recovery.
GearUp Takeaway
This isn't an argument that electricity prices never move — they do, just on a different clock. What this spring demonstrated is that gasoline carries a geopolitical risk premium baked into every gallon, and that risk premium can reprice your monthly fuel bill by 50% before you've had time to adjust your budget.
Cost-Per-Mile, Before and After
| Scenario | Fuel Price | Efficiency Assumption | Cost per Mile |
|---|
| Gas at February low | $2.98/gal | 30 mpg | 9.9¢ |
| Gas at May peak | $4.56/gal | 30 mpg | 15.2¢ |
| Gas at July level | $3.80/gal | 30 mpg | 12.7¢ |
| EV, public charging | 41¢/kWh | ~3.5 mi/kWh | 11.7¢ |
| EV, typical home charging | Well below public rate | ~3.5 mi/kWh | Lower and far more stable |
Even using the higher public-charging rate, EV cost-per-mile stayed below the May gas peak throughout the spike, and the gap widens further for anyone charging primarily at home, where rates are typically lower and don't carry the same volatility.
The Timing Problem: 30C Expired Right Into This
The federal home EV charger tax credit — up to $1,000 or 30% of installation costs — expired for new installations after June 30, 2026, just as gas price volatility was working its way through this ten-week round trip. For a household weighing whether to build out home charging now, that's an awkward coincidence: the tool that made the stable, lower-volatility option cheaper to set up disappeared right as the case for wanting that stability got stronger.
That doesn't mean home charging stopped making sense on June 30. It means the installation now has to clear a slightly higher upfront bar, at the same time gas ownership just demonstrated how quickly its cost can move against you.
Who Should Pay Attention
1. Drivers comparing a used EV against a comparable gas car right now
If your comparison spreadsheet uses a single static gas price, rerun it with the May peak instead of today's price. A car that looks marginal at $3.80 a gallon looks different at $4.56.
2. Households that rent or street-park
If you're stuck on public charging rather than home charging, your cost-per-mile is closer to the 41-cent figure above — still more stable than gas, but without the deeper savings home charging offers.
3. Anyone who was on the fence about a home charger before June 30
The federal credit is gone for new installations, but the volatility case for having predictable fuel costs didn't go anywhere. State and utility rebates are worth checking before writing off the upgrade.
Bottom Line
A 53% swing in ten weeks is not a rounding error — it is real money moving in and out of a household budget at a stressful, unpredictable pace. Electricity, particularly at home, does not carry that same geopolitical exposure. That stability has a value that a static per-gallon-versus-per-kWh comparison always understates.
GearUp Final Take
Gas prices don't send you a calendar invite before they move 50%. Electricity, for the most part, does its own thing quietly in the background — which is either boring or the entire point, depending on how many times you've checked a gas station sign and felt your stomach drop this year.
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