Gasoline prices averaged $5.299 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in August 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were 12.4 cents lower than last August when they averaged $5.423 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 28.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in August 2023, higher than the 24.7 cents price per kWh paid in August 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.909 per therm in August was lower than the $2.227 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $5.299 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 30.4 percent more than the $4.064 national average in August 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 29.0 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 29.0 percent to 40.6 percent above the national average in the month of August 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 August)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Aug 2019	$2.716	$3.563
Aug 2020	$2.245	$3.156
Aug 2021	$3.351	$4.429
Aug 2022	$4.205	$5.423
Aug 2023	$4.064	$5.299
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 28.0 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in August 2023 was 64.7 percent more than the nationwide average of 17.0 cents per kWh. Last August, electricity costs were 47.9 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 34.5 percent or more in the month of August. (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 August)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Aug 2019	$0.139	$0.187
Aug 2020	$0.137	$0.200
Aug 2021	$0.144	$0.221
Aug 2022	$0.167	$0.247
Aug 2023	$0.170	$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 $1.909 per therm, 36.2 percent more than the national average in August 2023 ($1.402 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 31.5 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 August has varied between 25.3 percent and 42.2 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 August)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Aug 2019	$1.034	$1.296
Aug 2020	$1.031	$1.466
Aug 2021	$1.267	$1.705
Aug 2022	$1.694	$2.227
Aug 2023	$1.402	$1.909
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.