Gasoline prices averaged $3.442 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in December 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices increased 53.3 percent from last December when they averaged $2.245 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 13.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2021, 3.9 percent higher than the 12.7 cents in December 2020. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.431 per therm in December 2021 was up 24.8 percent from $1.147 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.442 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 1.8 percent less than the national average of $3.505 for a gallon of gasoline in December 2021. From 2017 to 2020, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington were close to the U.S. average in December, differing by 1.4 percent or less. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 13.2 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in December 2021 was 7.0 percent below the nationwide average of 14.2 cents. Last December, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 6.6 percent below the national average. From 2017 to 2019, electricity prices for the Washington area ranged from 4.5 to 7.4 percent below those for the nation in December. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Washington area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.431 per therm in December 2021, 2.1 percent above the national average of $1.402 per therm. Last December, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 3.0 percent higher than the national average. From 2017 to 2020, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 2.1 percent to 17.3 percent higher than the national average in December. (See chart 3.)

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

The Consumer Price Index for January 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, December 2020-December 2021, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	Washington	United States	Washington	United States	Washington
2020
December	$2.235	$2.245	$0.136	$0.127	$1.114	$1.147
2021
January	2.391	2.371	0.136	0.127	1.119	1.194
February	2.559	2.482	0.137	0.126	1.124	1.212
March	2.856	2.788	0.138	0.127	1.144	1.370
April	2.907	2.822	0.139	0.127	1.166	1.465
May	3.041	2.967	0.140	0.126	1.201	1.478
June	3.245	3.153	0.142	0.136	1.219	1.553
July	3.326	3.190	0.143	0.138	1.241	1.607
August	3.351	3.204	0.144	0.138	1.267	1.553
September	3.361	3.198	0.144	0.137	1.302	1.429
October	3.477	3.371	0.142	0.138	1.383	1.612
November	3.576	3.489	0.142	0.130	1.401	1.608
December	3.505	3.442	0.142	0.132	1.402	1.431