Gasoline prices averaged $5.016 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in July 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were $1.008 lower than last July when they averaged $6.024 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 28.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in July 2023, higher than the 24.7 cents price per kWh paid in July 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.775 per therm in July was lower than the $2.006 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $5.016 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 30.6 percent more than the $3.842 national average in July 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 26.3 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 26.3 percent to 37.7 percent above the national average in the month of July 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 July)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Jul 2019	$2.836	$3.689
Jul 2020	$2.243	$3.089
Jul 2021	$3.326	$4.384
Jul 2022	$4.768	$6.024
Jul 2023	$3.842	$5.016
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 28.0 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in July 2023 was 65.7 percent more than the nationwide average of 16.9 cents per kWh. Last July, electricity costs were 50.6 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 36.4 percent or more in the month of July. (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 July)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Jul 2019	$0.140	$0.191
Jul 2020	$0.137	$0.200
Jul 2021	$0.143	$0.221
Jul 2022	$0.164	$0.247
Jul 2023	$0.169	$0.280
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 $1.775 per therm, 27.2 percent more than the national average in July 2023 ($1.395 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 23.1 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 July has varied between 23.1 percent and 43.2 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 July)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Jul 2019	$1.029	$1.308
Jul 2020	$1.027	$1.471
Jul 2021	$1.241	$1.680
Jul 2022	$1.629	$2.006
Jul 2023	$1.395	$1.775
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.