Since the war with Iran broke out, the average American household has spent an extra …
$187.41 on gasoline.
For many households, that is the equivalent of a month’s electricity bill.
Or a week’s worth of groceries for a couple.
The gasoline calculation is part of an analysis conducted by researchers at Brown University as they and others try to assess the economic costs of the prolonged fighting.
Calculating the cost of war — a skipped meal or a drive not made — is an imperfect science. But these estimates can offer a sense of how fighting far away can change behaviors large and small each day, disrupting American life.
Discomfort has not been spread evenly. As the price of gasoline has shot up, the national average is now …
$4.56 a gallon
In Illinois, it is more expensive …
$5.01 a gallon.
In California, it’s …
$6.14 a gallon.
Diesel, which is used to power factories and move most goods around the country, also quickly climbed.
Taken together, the amount of extra money Americans have collectively spent on gasoline and diesel since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, is staggering:
$0.0 billion
Hunting for cheaper gas, Americans are going to Costcos and Sam’s Clubs more often to fill up their tanks.
Drivers visited Sam’s Club gas stations 18 percent more in the last week of April than the same time last year.
They are filling their tanks with less gas.
One gallon fewer at a time.
They are riding more subways and commuter trains.
They are using bike shares more often.
People rode more buses in March than before the war:
45 million more rides.
People are spending less on essentials.
More than 40 percent of people in a recent poll said they were spending less on groceries and medical care.
They are putting less into savings.
Richer households are spending a relatively small share of their income on gas:
2.7%.
Poorer households are spending far more:
4.2%.
This is not the first time in recent years that the economy has been shocked by war.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, oil prices spiked, sending gasoline soaring. At its peak, the national average was …
$5.02 a gallon.
Where things go this time around is anyone’s guess. When the war does end, it will still take weeks or months for energy supplies to level off.
Nearly three out of four goods move across the country by truck.
Many of those trucks are powered by diesel, making them much costlier to drive, and what’s inside them costlier for consumers.
Last month, a tomato cost …
40% more
than it did the same time last year.
More expensive fuel isn’t the only culprit for rising costs. Extreme weather, tariffs and other factors have forced prices up for many industries. Gasoline also becomes more expensive as the summer approaches.
But inflation last month rose at its fastest pace in nearly three years, and gasoline was among the fastest rising categories.
