Prices at Maverik and Love’s have exceeded $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022 in May, and the U.S.-Iran war has been the single biggest driver of the spike. Gas had risen 61 cents in a single month as the conflict rattled global oil markets. Nationally, gas prices are about 30 percent higher than before the war began — and Iowa families have felt every cent of it. The average Iowa household has already paid an extra $516 on gasoline since the war began on February 28.
For families across southern Iowa, a car is essential. From the suburbs of Des Moines through the agricultural communities of Warren, Madison, and Adair counties, and south through smaller cities like Ottumwa to the Missouri border, gas prices are affecting thousands of residents living in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain.
Even as prices have fluctuated, they have not come down meaningfully. As of mid-July, Iowa’s statewide average stood at $3.82 per gallon — up 90 cents from a year ago, with renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran pushing prices back up after a brief dip. Oil markets are teetering around $80 per barrel, according to AAA Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner, who noted that instead of leveling off after the Fourth of July, prices have kept climbing. At the peak this spring, Des Moines-area families were paying $4.23 per gallon — the highest price in nearly four years.
Larger Effects
The pain at the pump ripples outward. Small businesses in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain are getting hit twice — first by the cost of shipping products in, then by the cost of delivering them to customers. Nonprofits serving Iowa’s most vulnerable residents are also absorbing the blow: April was the highest month for fuel costs in 2026, running 40 percent higher than January for organizations like Meals on Wheels, which operates roughly 40 delivery routes a day. At the Food Bank of Iowa — which serves 700 partner sites across 55 counties — diesel prices hit $4.94 per gallon at the peak, squeezing a budget already stretched thin.
The grocery store is delivering its own set of blows.
- The typical American family of four now spends more than $1,000 a month at the grocery store
- Beef and veal prices were 12.1 percent higher in March 2026 than a year earlier, with higher projections looming ahead
- Tariffs have cost the average household an estimated $2,400 per year — before adjusting for changes in shopping habits.
Iowa families are especially exposed: more than 75 percent of Iowans have changed the amounts or types of food they buy because of increasing costs, and 42 percent have turned to a food pantry. Half of Iowa families say they are buying fewer fruits and vegetables each week, a share that ranks among the highest in the nation.
The broader economic toll is mounting. The average Iowa household spent $2,600 more on goods and services under as of May 2026, driven by higher healthcare, grocery, energy, and housing costs. Trump had promised on the campaign trail to cut energy prices in half within his first year in office and bring gas below $2 a gallon. Food and fuel costs remain 3.5 percent higher than a year ago, with no clear end in sight.