Gasoline prices averaged $4.180 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices increased 48.1 percent from last April when they averaged $2.822 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 13.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in April 2022, 7.1 percent higher than the 12.7 cents in April 2021. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.703 per therm in April 2022 was up 16.2 percent from $1.465 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $4.180 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 4.3 percent less than the national average of $4.369 for a gallon of gasoline in April 2022. From 2018 to 2021, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington ranged from 2.9 percent below to 9.0 percent above those for the nation in April. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 13.6 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in April 2022 was 9.9 percent below the nationwide average of 15.1 cents. Last April, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 8.6 percent below the national average. From 2018 to 2020, electricity prices for the Washington area ranged from 3.0 to 6.0 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 $1.703 per therm in April 2022, 17.9 percent above the national average of $1.445 per therm. Last April, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 25.6 percent higher than the national average. From 2018 to 2020, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 11.0 percent to 24.8 percent higher than the national average in April. (See chart 3.)

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.

The Consumer Price Index for May 2022 is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 10, 2022, 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, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, April 2021-April 2022, 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
2021
April	$2.907	$2.822	$0.139	$0.127	$1.166	$1.465
May	3.041	2.967	0.140	0.126	1.201	1.478
June	3.245	3.153	0.142	0.136	1.219	1.553
July	3.326	3.190	0.143	0.138	1.241	1.607
August	3.351	3.204	0.144	0.138	1.267	1.553
September	3.361	3.198	0.144	0.137	1.302	1.429
October	3.477	3.371	0.142	0.138	1.383	1.612
November	3.576	3.489	0.142	0.130	1.401	1.608
December	3.505	3.442	0.142	0.132	1.402	1.431
2022
January	3.500	3.424	0.147	0.133	1.409	1.504
February	3.675	3.588	0.148	0.136	1.413	1.509
March	4.401	4.216	0.150	0.136	1.411	1.569
April	4.369	4.180	0.151	0.136	1.445	1.703