Gasoline prices averaged $4.907 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in May 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were $1.137 lower than last May when they averaged $6.044 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 26.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in May 2023, higher than the 25.4 cents price per kWh paid in May 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.696 per therm in May was lower than the $1.987 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $4.907 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 29.3 percent more than the $3.794 national average in May 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 28.7 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 28.7 percent to 44.0 percent above the national average in the month of May during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

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Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of May)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
May 2019	$2.963	$4.012
May 2020	$1.946	$2.802
May 2021	$3.041	$4.055
May 2022	$4.695	$6.044
May 2023	$3.794	$4.907
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 26.9 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in May 2023 was 63.0 percent more than the nationwide average of 16.5 cents per kWh. Last May, electricity costs were 64.9 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 36.8 percent or more in the month of May. (See chart 2.)

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Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of May)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
May 2019	$0.136	$0.186
May 2020	$0.134	$0.199
May 2021	$0.140	$0.220
May 2022	$0.154	$0.254
May 2023	$0.165	$0.269
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.696 per therm, 22.5 percent more than the national average in May 2023 ($1.385 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 27.0 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 May has varied between 21.4 percent and 40.4 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

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Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of May)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
May 2019	$1.035	$1.257
May 2020	$1.037	$1.456
May 2021	$1.201	$1.609
May 2022	$1.565	$1.987
May 2023	$1.385	$1.696
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

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.