Gasoline prices averaged $2.482 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in February 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Frank Waligorski noted that area gasoline prices were close to those from last February when they averaged $2.516 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 12.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in February 2021, close to the 12.8 cents in February 2020. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.212 per therm in February 2021 was up 2.7 percent from $1.180 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.482 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 3.0 percent less than the national average of $2.559 for a gallon of gasoline in February 2021. Last February, gasoline prices in Washington were 0.6 percent lower than the national average. From 2017 to 2019, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington were also close to the U.S. average in February. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 12.6 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in February 2021 was 8.0 percent below the nationwide average of 13.7 cents. Last February, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 4.5 percent below the national average. From 2017 to 2019, electricity prices for the Washington area remained at least 5.9 percent below those for the nation in February. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Washington area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.212 per therm in February 2021, 7.8 percent above the national average of $1.124 per therm. Last February, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 12.4 percent higher than the national average. From 2017 to 2019, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 15.2 percent to 21.9 percent higher than the national average in February. (See chart 3.)

The Consumer Price Index for March 2021 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

 Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, United States and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, February 2020-February 2021, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	Washington	United States	Washington	United States	Washington
2020
February	$2.530	$2.516	$0.134	$0.128	$1.050	$1.180
March	2.334	2.437	0.134	0.129	1.034	1.156
April	1.946	2.121	0.133	0.129	1.028	1.215
May	1.946	2.064	0.134	0.125	1.037	1.255
June	2.141	2.090	0.137	0.131	1.037	1.309
July	2.243	2.186	0.137	0.134	1.027	1.333
August	2.245	2.204	0.137	0.133	1.031	1.130
September	2.260	2.239	0.137	0.132	1.064	1.181
October	2.228	2.263	0.135	0.132	1.067	1.217
November	2.159	2.197	0.136	0.126	1.104	1.221
December	2.235	2.245	0.136	0.127	1.114	1.147
2021
January	2.391	2.371	0.136	0.127	1.119	1.194
February	2.559	2.482	0.137	0.126	1.124	1.212