Rasmussen Poll: Gas Prices Impacting Travel Plans

According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, over a third of American adults are changing their summer vacation plans due to high gas prices.

On Wednesday night, the AAA website reported that the average U.S. regular gas price was $3.575 per gallon.

Rasmussen Reports found that 38% of Americans have adjusted their vacation plans due to the high gas prices.

Although 54% of respondents say gas prices have not impacted their summer vacation plans, this is a decrease from June 2022 when 57% reported the same despite higher gas prices at the time.

In terms of racial demographics, the survey found that 37% of whites, 30% of Blacks, 56% of Hispanics, and 25% of other minorities have altered their 2024 summer vacation plans due to gas prices.

The poll also revealed that 61% of respondents say gas prices in their area have increased over the past six months, with 10% reporting a decrease and 24% stating the price has remained stable.

Looking ahead, half of the participants anticipate gas prices in their area to rise in the next six months, while 14% expect a decrease and 29% believe prices will remain steady.

When broken down by political affiliation, a majority of Republicans (72%), Democrats (50%), and unaffiliated (63%) individuals acknowledge an uptick in gas prices in their area over the past six months.

Additionally, Republicans are more likely to have their vacation plans affected by fuel prices, while Democrats are less optimistic about gas prices continuing to rise in the future.

Private sector workers (54%) are more inclined than government employees (45%) or retirees (49%) to predict an increase in gas prices in the next six months.

Interestingly, older Americans aged 65 and above are less likely to have their summer vacation plans disrupted by gasoline prices this year.

The Rasmussen Report survey, conducted on May 15-16 and 19 among 1,244 American adults, has a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.