Gasoline prices averaged $2.822 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in April 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices increased from last April when they averaged $2.121 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 12.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in April 2021, close to the 12.9 cents in April 2020. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.465 per therm in April 2021 was up 20.6 percent from $1.215 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.822 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 2.9 percent less than the national average of $2.907 for a gallon of gasoline in April 2021. From 2017 to 2020, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington ranged from 2.2 percent lower to 9.0 percent higher compared to the U.S. average in April. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 12.7 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in April 2021 was 8.6 percent below the nationwide average of 13.9 cents. Last April, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 3.0 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 April. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Washington area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.465 per therm in April 2021, 25.6 percent above the national average of $1.166 per therm. Last April, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 18.2 percent higher than the national average. From 2017 to 2019, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 11.0 percent to 28.1 percent higher than the national average in April. (See chart 3.)

The Consumer Price Index for May 2021 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 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, April 2020-April 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
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
March	2.856	2.788	0.138	0.127	1.144	1.370
April	2.907	2.822	0.139	0.127	1.166	1.465