Americans Are Cutting Summer Trips as Gas Prices Stay High

TLDR

Gas prices surged past $4 a gallon nationally this spring amid the Iran conflict and remain elevated heading into summer. A new Gallup poll finds 57% of Americans are driving less as a result, and 46% have changed their summer vacation plans, with lower-income households absorbing the heaviest hit.

Steve Hoskins is still taking his family on vacation this summer. He is just doing it differently than he planned. “There’s sticker shock on pretty much everything we do,” the Rochester, New York resident told CBS News while traveling for Memorial Day weekend - a small, ordinary admission that captures what a year of rising fuel costs has done to how Americans are choosing to spend their summer.

From Under $3 to Over $4

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline started 2026 below $3.00, then climbed steadily as the Iran war disrupted the global flow of oil. Prices hit $3.99 by the end of March, $4.12 in April, and roughly $4.50 for much of May, according to AAA data - the third-highest monthly average on record, behind only June and July 2022. Prices have eased slightly since, settling near $4.05 in early June as oil markets responded to signs a ceasefire could hold.

As of mid-June, California had the highest average price in the country at $5.71 a gallon, followed by Hawaii and Washington state. Indiana had the lowest, at $3.36.

Who’s Feeling It Most

A Gallup poll conducted June 1-15 found 57% of Americans say gas prices have caused them to drive less than they otherwise would, and 46% say the prices have caused them to change their summer vacation plans. Both figures sit slightly below the highs recorded in 2022, when prices approached $5 a gallon nationally. The impact is not evenly distributed: 73% of lower-income adults report driving less because of gas prices, compared with about half of middle- and upper-income adults, though the share who have altered vacation plans is more even across income groups.

Despite the strain, Americans’ overall economic outlook has ticked up slightly. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index rose from -45 in May to -38 in June, even as 36% of respondents still name some aspect of the economy as the nation’s top problem, with inflation and the cost of living cited most often.

A Smaller, Closer Summer

Travel industry data points to the same pattern: people are still going somewhere, just not as far. A Longwoods International survey found more than a third of Americans planning summer travel are taking fewer trips this year, and 36% are shifting to destinations closer to home. “2026 will absolutely be the summer of the regional road trip for American leisure travelers,” Longwoods CEO Amir Eylon told Forbes, noting that travel has shifted for many Americans “from a want to a need” since the pandemic - something people will sacrifice elsewhere to protect, even as the price of getting there keeps climbing.

References: Summer travelers face ‘vacation inflation’ as airfare, gas prices rise | Gas Prices Straining Americans’ Finances, Travel Plans