Gasoline prices averaged $5.555 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in September 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were $1.115 higher than last September when they averaged $4.440 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2022, higher than the 22.2 cents price per kWh paid in September 2021. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $2.224 per therm in September was higher than the $1.702 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $5.555 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 39.2 percent more than the $3.990 national average in September 2022. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 32.1 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 25.5 to 40.7 percent above the national average in the month of September during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 24.4 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in September 2022 was 46.1 percent more than the nationwide average of 16.7 cents per kWh. Last September, electricity costs were 54.2 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 23.2 percent or more in the month of September. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $2.224 per therm, 27.9 percent more than the national average in September 2022 ($1.739 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 30.7 percent more 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 September has varied between 26.0 percent and 37.8 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, September 2021–September 2022, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area
2021
September	$3.361	$4.440	$0.144	$0.222	$1.302	$1.702
October	3.477	4.524	0.142	0.239	1.383	1.796
November	3.576	4.694	0.142	0.240	1.401	1.710
December	3.505	4.720	0.142	0.240	1.402	1.625
2022
January	3.500	4.708	0.147	0.248	1.409	1.878
February	3.675	4.809	0.148	0.248	1.413	1.642
March	4.401	5.824	0.150	0.258	1.411	1.693
April	4.369	5.893	0.151	0.251	1.445	1.664
May	4.695	6.044	0.154	0.252	1.565	1.987
June	5.149	6.423	0.160	0.247	1.699	2.284
July	4.768	6.024	0.166	0.244	1.629	2.006
August	4.205	5.423	0.167	0.244	1.694	2.227
September	3.990	5.555	0.167	0.244	1.739	2.224