Poll: Most Americans Expect Gas Prices to Keep Climbing

Most Americans expect already-exorbitant gas prices to continue rising over the next six months, a new Rasmussen Reports poll found.

Eighty-nine percent of 1,000 U.S. adults polled say they are paying “more for a gallon of gas today compared to six months ago,” and 78 percent say those prices will most likely continue to increase over the next half of the year. Fifty-nine percent of those think it is “very likely” they will pay even more for a gallon of gas six months from now.

Rasmussen Reports quoted the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which found that the retail price of a gallon of gasoline has increased roughly $1.60 since January, from $3.28 to $4.87.

“Although it has declined from its mid-June peak of $5.01, the price of gasoline is now $2.76 more per gallon than it was on Election Day 2020,” the survey report states. 

Republicans (93 percent) and independents (77 percent) are more likely than Democrats (67 percent) to believe gas prices will continue climbing, though strong majorities of each demographic agree. However, only 38 percent of Democrats believe it is “very likely” they will soon pay more for gas, compared to 79 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of independent voters.

Voters under 40 are less likely than older Americans to notice high gas prices, though Americans who make between $30,000 and $100,000 a year are the most likely to expect higher gas prices in the coming months, according to the survey. Americans who make more than $200,000 a year are “least likely” to worry about higher gas prices. Private sector workers are also more likely than government employees to believe gas prices are on the rise.

The survey comes after Emerson College released a poll showing that 33 percent of Americans actively changed their Fourth of July travel plans due to high gas prices. Another late-June poll by Rasmussen Reports shows that rising gas prices have emerged as a top midterm issue, narrowly edging out inflation.

Regardless, President Joe Biden continues to blame gas station owners for price gouging, rather than acknowledging the fallout from his own energy policies.

The Rasmussen Reports survey was conducted between June 20-21, 2022 and has a margin of error of  ±3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.