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What the Iran War Is Costing You

By Emmett Lindner and Rebecca Lieberman Illustrations by Vincent Kilbride May 22, 2026

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Since the war with Iran broke out, the average American household has spent an extra ...

$190.47 on gasoline. For many households, that is the equivalent of a month’s electricity bill.

Or a week’s worth of groceries for a couple.

The gasoline calculation is part of an analysis conducted by researchers at Brown University as they and others try to assess the economic costs of the prolonged fighting.

Calculating the cost of war — a skipped meal or a drive not made — is an imperfect science. But these estimates can offer a sense of how fighting far away can change behaviors large and small each day, disrupting American life.

Discomfort has not been spread evenly. As the price of gasoline has shot up, the national average is now … $4.55 a gallon

$4.55 a gallon

May 2026

War in Iran

breaks out

Feb. 28

$2.84 a gallon

Jan. 2026

$4.55

May

$2.84

January

Taken together, the amount of extra money Americans have collectively spent on gasoline and diesel since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, is staggering: $0.0 billion

Hunting for cheaper gas, Americans are going to Costcos and Sam’s Clubs more often to fill up their tanks.

Drivers visited Sam’s Club gas stations 18 percent more in the last week of April than the same time last year.

They are filling their tanks with less gas.

One gallon fewer at a time.

They are riding more subways and commuter trains.

They are using bike shares more often.

People rode more buses in March than before the war: 45 million more rides. People are spending less on essentials.

More than 40 percent of people in a recent poll said they were spending less on groceries and medical care.

They are putting less into savings.

Richer households are spending a relatively small share of their income on gas: 2.7%. Poorer households are spending far more: 4.2%.

This is not the first time in recent years that the economy has been shocked by war.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, oil prices spiked, sending gasoline soaring. At its peak, the national average was ... $5.02 a gallon.

Russia-Ukraine

war begins

$2.25 a gallon

Jan. 2021

Where things go this time around is anyone’s guess. When the war does end, it will still take weeks or months for energy supplies to level off.

Nearly three out of four goods move across the country by truck. Many of those trucks are