Prices at the pump over Labor Day weekend are expected to surpass the previous record high for the final summer holiday weekend, as President Donald Trump’s war with Iran continues to keep costs high.
Gas prices are forecast to hit $4.03 per gallon by next weekend, 87 cents higher than in 2025 and the steepest Labor Day price for gas on record, according to GasBuddy.
That estimate smashes the previous record high for the holiday weekend, which was $3.83 per gallon in 2012.
“It’s been a challenging year for motorists, with constant ups and downs at the pump that stayed elevated into this final summer holiday, though relief may lie ahead if tensions ease,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said.
Average gas prices during Labor Day weekend over the last five years were as low as $3.79 per gallon in 2022, $3.77 per gallon in 2023, $3.29 per gallon in 2024 and $3.16 per gallon in 2025, according to GasBuddy.
Gas prices are typically higher in the summer when demand increases, and this year saw an added jump from the Iran war. Prices have skyrocketed ever since the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes in February, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route that one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through.
As a result of the war, the cost of gas in the U.S. hit a national average of $4.08 a gallon as of Monday, according to the AAA index. Consumers had also paid a collective $59 billion more to fill their tanks from February 28 through May than the year before, a Moody’s economist estimated.
Trump has previously said that paying more for gas is the cost of restraining Iran and keeping them from getting a nuclear weapon.
While Vice President JD Vance said last month that the administration’s top priority amid the war was keeping the price of oil and gas low for Americans, in an August 17 social media post, Trump said the “No. 1 goal is, and always will be” that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
GasBuddy, a platform designed to help American drivers find the cheapest gas near them, noted that prices have been volatile due to the geopolitical tensions that have disrupted global oil markets.
The conflict remains deeply unpopular with voters, many of whom are already concerned about the high cost of living. Both issues may cause trouble for Republicans during November’s midterms, as the GOP could lose its slim majority in the House of Representatives and Senate if Trump cannot get a handle on them beforehand.
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