Higher Gas Prices Are Hitting Lower-Income Americans the Hardest

Surging gas prices are inflaming a longstanding economic divide in America, as households with lower incomes struggle to pay more at the pump at a moment when prices are already elevated.

After more than two months of war in the Middle East, the national average gas price has surpassed $4.50 a gallon. And according to an analysis released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Wednesday, the burden of the surge is falling hardest on those with the least room to absorb it.

Economists at the New York Fed found that higher-income people increased spending on gasoline the most in March, but the amount of gas they bought when adjusted for inflation was “essentially unchanged,” a sign that their behavior has been largely unaffected by the fuel price surge.

Lower-income households, however, spent much more on gas than usual but cut back on the amount of gasoline they bought by driving less or “potentially by car-pooling or substituting to public transit where available,” according to the report.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/business/economy/gas-prices-inequality-lower-income-consumers.html