Gasoline prices averaged $3.600 a gallon in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area in December 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that area gasoline prices were similar to last December when they averaged $3.581 per gallon. New York area households paid an average of 23.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2022, up from 20.0 cents per kWh in December 2021. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at 1.845 cents per therm in December was up from 1.497 cents per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.600 a gallon, costs for gasoline in the New York area were 4.1 percent above the national average of $3.459 a gallon in December 2022. One year earlier, gasoline prices in the New York area were similar to the national average. The local price of a gallon of gasoline in December was close to the national average in three of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 23.1 cents per kWh that New York households paid for electricity in December 2022 was 40.0 percent higher than the nationwide average cost of 16.5 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs in New York were 40.8 percent higher than the nation. New York area electricity costs have exceeded the national average by at least 40.0 percent over the past five Decembers. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by New York area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were 1.845 dollars per therm in December 2022, 10.7 percent above the national average of $1.667 per therm. A year earlier, area consumers paid 6.8 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. Utility (piped) gas prices in the New York area have been above the national average over the previous five Decembers, ranging from 6.8 percent to 21.3 percent higher. (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 January 2023 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, 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, 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, December 2021–December 2022, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	New York area	United States	New York area	United States	New York area
2021
December	$3.505	$3.581	$0.142	$0.200	$1.402	$1.497
2022
January	3.500	3.537	0.147	0.256	1.409	1.497
February	3.675	3.719	0.148	0.196	1.413	1.538
March	4.401	4.388	0.150	0.225	1.411	1.490
April	4.369	4.290	0.151	0.235	1.445	1.517
May	4.695	4.828	0.154	0.241	1.565	1.605
June	5.149	5.131	0.160	0.248	1.699	1.674
July	4.768	4.800	0.164	0.232	1.629	1.659
August	4.205	4.323	0.167	0.249	1.694	1.755
September	3.990	3.832	0.167	0.245	1.739	1.770
October	4.130	3.732	0.166	0.235	1.668	1.770
November	3.958	3.970	0.163	0.232	1.616	1.768
December	3.459	3.600	0.165	0.231	1.667	1.845