According to the

Energy Information Admininstration

( EIA ), the highest average monthly gas price in the early 1980s was $1.417 per gallon in March of 1981, which in today's dollars is $3.22 per gallon, which also according to the EIA is the

average retail cost of gas today

.





capita disposable personal income in those years. Gas prices averaged $1.245 and $1.38 in 1980 and 1981 respectively, and per- capita income was $8,822 and $9,765 in those years (see chart above, click to enlarge; source for Personal Income is



Gas is now selling for an average of $3.22 and per- capita disposable personal income in March was about $33,000, so that 1000 gallons of gas now costs 9.76% of per- capita personal disposable income (see chart above, click to enlarge).



However, gas prices as a percent of income are still way below the early 1980s. In both 1980 and 1981, 1000 gallons of gas at the average price cost 14.1% of per-disposable personal income in those years. Gas prices averaged $1.245 and $1.38 in 1980 and 1981 respectively, and per-income was $8,822 and $9,765 in those years (see chart above, click to enlarge; source for Personal Income is Bureau of Economic Analysis, Table 2 ).Gas is now selling for an average of $3.22 and per-disposable personal income in March was about $33,000, so that 1000 gallons of gas now costs 9.76% of per-personal disposable income (see chart above, click to enlarge).

Bottom Line: Gas is still much cheaper today as a percent of income compared to 1980 or 1981. To be as expensive as gas was in 1980-1981 gas (as a percent of income), prices today would have to get all the way up to $4.62 per gallon.