Gasoline prices averaged $3.689 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in July 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were similar to last July when they averaged $3.633 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 19.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in July 2019, higher than the 18.2 cents price per kWh paid in July 2018. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.308 per therm in July was lower than the $1.385 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $3.689 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 30.1 percent more than the $2.836 national average in July 2019. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 24.0 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 22.4 to 39.0 percent above the national average in the month of July during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 19.1 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in July 2019 was 36.4 percent more than the nationwide average of 14.0 cents per kWh. Last July, electricity costs were 30.9 percent higher in Los Angeles compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by 24.5 percent or more in the month of July. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.308 per therm, 27.1 percent more than the national average in July 2019 ($1.029 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 30.8 percent less per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the Los Angeles area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in July has varied between 27.1 percent and 43.2 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area consists of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

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, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and the United States, July 2018 - July 2019, not seasonally adjusted

	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area	United States
2018
July	$3.633	$2.930	$0.182	$0.139	$1.358	$1.038
August	3.610	2.919	0.182	0.139	1.587	1.055
September	3.676	2.930	0.170	0.138	1.369	1.030
October	3.844	2.945	0.184	0.136	1.279	1.023
November	3.640	2.733	0.184	0.134	1.182	1.020
December	3.410	2.479	0.184	0.135	1.350	1.085
2019
January	3.277	2.352	0.183	0.135	1.337	1.082
February	3.315	2.412	0.183	0.136	1.260	1.051
March	3.470	2.620	0.185	0.135	1.327	1.048
April	3.987	2.894	0.186	0.135	1.124	1.034
May	4.012	2.963	0.186	0.136	1.257	1.035
June	3.741	2.814	0.189	0.139	1.268	1.035
July	3.689	2.836	0.191	0.140	1.308	1.029