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News Release Information

21-1058-NEW
Friday, June 11, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Average Energy Prices, New York-Newark-Jersey City–May 2021

Gasoline prices averaged $3.038 per gallon in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area in May 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that gasoline prices were up 87.7 cents from last May, when area households paid $2.151 per gallon. Electricity prices averaged 21.4 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), up from the 19.9 cents per kWh paid in May 2020. The average price of utility (piped) gas, at $1.250 per therm, was greater than last May’s price of $1.210. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $3.038 a gallon, the price of gasoline in the New York area was close to the $3.041 national average in May 2021. One year earlier, consumers in the New York area paid 10.5% more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline in May has been close to the national average four of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 21.4 cents per kWh New York area households paid for electricity in May 2021 was 52.9 percent more than the national average of 14.0 cents per kWh. Last May, electricity prices were 48.5 percent higher in the New York area compared to the nation. Over the past five years, electricity prices for local area consumers in May were 43 to 54 percent more than the national average. (See chart 2.)

The average price paid in May 2021 by New York area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.250 per therm, 4.1 percent more than the national average of $1.201. In May 2020, area consumers paid 16.7 percent more than the national average. The per-therm cost for natural gas in the New York area in May exceeded the U.S. average by at least 9 percent from 2017 to 2020. (See chart 3.)

The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

The Consumer Price Index for June 2021 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on May 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in May was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at

https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.


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, 9 divisions, 2 population size classes, 8 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 23 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, New York-Newark-Jersey City and the United States, May 2020–May 2021, not seasonally adjusted
Year and monthGasoline per gallonElectricity per kWhUtility (piped) gas per therm
New YorkUnited StatesNew YorkUnited StatesNew YorkUnited States

2020

May

$2.151$1.946$0.199$0.134$1.210$1.037

June

2.2052.1410.2230.1371.1981.037

July

2.2582.2430.2180.1371.1941.027

August

2.2452.2450.2090.1371.1961.031

September

2.2612.2600.2110.1371.1821.064

October

2.2482.2280.2020.1351.1711.067

November

2.2092.1590.2010.1361.2591.104

December

2.2852.2350.2110.1361.2491.114

2021

January

2.4462.3910.2130.1361.2821.119

February

2.6122.5590.2190.1371.3211.124

March

2.8702.8560.1880.1381.3101.144

April

2.9112.9070.2080.1391.2761.166

May

3.0383.0410.2140.1401.2501.201

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, June 11, 2021