It’s no secret that Americans don’t like high prices at the gas pump, but a Gallup poll released last week found that it’s not the issue consumers identify as the country’s most pressing concern — not by a long shot.
Conducted in the days immediately after the U.S. and Israel initially struck Iran on Feb. 28, the poll released Thursday found that only 35 percent of Americans worried “a great deal” about the availability and affordability of gas and energy.
The exact same percentage of Americans felt similarly last year — and an even larger 37 percent of Americans felt similarly in 2024 during former President Joe Biden’s final year in office.
“In 2022, during the last major spike in gas prices, 47 percent said they worried a great deal,” according to Gallup. “Gallup has observed elevated worry about energy at other times of rising gas prices, such as in 2006, 2008 and 2011.”
Nationwide, the average gallon of gas at the end of February was $2.98, according to the AAA. As March draws to a close, that average is almost a full dollar higher at $3.90, according to AAA.
During the initial weeks of the U.S. war with Iran, 35% U.S. adults said they worry “a great deal” about the availability and affordability of energy. pic.twitter.com/2YDIyWwJTx
— Gallup (@Gallup) March 26, 2026
The Gallup poll also found that only 2 percent of Americans considered gas/energy prices the top issue facing the country.
Americans instead appeared to be more worried about government (28 percent), the economy in general (15 percent), immigration (14 percent), and inflation (10 percent).
Only 43 percent of Americans expected a critical energy shortage to occur within five years. This was significantly short of the 55 percent who felt similarly at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the 60 percent who felt similarly in 2008 and 2011.
The numbers appeared drastically affected by political positions: A sizable 46 percent of Democrats worried a great deal about gas/energy, whereas only 23 percent of Republicans share this sentiment.
“The figures reflect a 10-percentage-point decline in concern among Republicans since last March, early in President Donald Trump’s second term, and an eight-point increase in concern among Democrats,” according to Gallup.
Average gas prices have increased to $3.98.
A month ago, gas prices were $2.95.
You can thank Donald Trump.
— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) March 24, 2026
While the Gallup poll — based on interviews conducted March 2-18 — was good news for Republicans, a separate, more recent AP-NORC poll may have slightly dampened the win.
This poll found that 45 percent of Americans were “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas in the upcoming months.
This was “up from 30 percent in an AP-NORC poll conducted shortly after Trump won re-election with promises that he would improve the economy and lower the cost of living,” according to The Associated Press.
The same poll — based on interviews conducted March 19-23 — found that roughly two-thirds of Americans said that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon should be an “extremely” or “very” important U.S. goal.
But the poll also found that Americans “are just as likely to say it’s important to keep U.S. oil and gas prices from rising,” the AP noted.
Some conservatives have called for a gas tax holiday to be pursued on the national level:
To bolster GOP midterm chances, Trump should suspend all tariffs, his most unpopular policy, and congress should pass a gas tax holiday to help with affordability, the most important issue with voters.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 26, 2026
On the state level, Republicans are pursuing a 90-day gas tax holiday in Virginia.
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