Gasoline prices averaged $2.473 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area in December 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were up 12.5 cents compared to last December when they averaged $2.348 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 10.4 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2016, similar to the 10.2 cents per kWh in December 2015. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.122 per therm in December was higher than the $1.056 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $2.473 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 8.0 percent more than the $2.289 national average in December 2016. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 10.5 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has been within 10.5 percent of the national average in the month of December during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 10.4 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in December 2016 was 21.8 percent less than the nationwide average of 13.3 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs were 23.3 percent lower in Seattle compared to the nation. In each of the past five years during the month of December, prices paid by Seattle area consumers for electricity were less than the U.S. average by at least 21.8 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.122 per therm, or 15.4 percent more compared to the national average in December 2016 ($0.972 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 18.4 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in December in the Seattle area has varied between 14.5 percent and 19.7 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash. metropolitan area consists of Kitsap, Thurston, Island, King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties of Washington.

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, Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton and the United States, December 2015-December 2016, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States
2015
December	$2.348	$2.125	$0.102	$0.133	$1.056	$0.892
2016
January	2.326	2.034	0.103	0.134	1.056	0.898
February	2.019	1.833	0.103	0.134	1.056	0.895
March	2.119	2.021	0.103	0.134	1.058	0.884
April	2.253	2.196	0.106	0.134	1.058	0.879
May	2.437	2.324	0.108	0.133	1.085	0.877
June	2.567	2.422	0.108	0.138	1.123	0.891
July	2.561	2.287	0.108	0.139	1.123	0.931
August	2.492	2.218	0.108	0.139	1.123	0.943
September	2.597	2.269	0.108	0.139	1.119	0.954
October	2.643	2.304	0.105	0.134	1.119	0.961
November	2.594	2.246	0.105	0.131	1.122	0.970
December	2.473	2.289	0.104	0.133	1.122	0.972