Gasoline prices averaged $3.916 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in August 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices decreased 5.3 percent from last August when they averaged $4.137 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 16.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in August 2023, 5.9 percent higher than the 15.3 cents in August 2022. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.448 per therm in August 2023 was down 23.1 percent from $1.884 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.916 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 3.6 percent less than the national average of $4.064 for a gallon of gasoline in August 2023. From 2019 to 2022, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington ranged from 4.4 below to 0.2 percent above those for the nation in August. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and United States, August 2019 - August 2023

Period	United States	Washington
Aug-19	$2.716	$2.722
Aug-20	$2.245	$2.204
Aug-21	$3.351	$3.204
Aug-22	$4.205	$4.137
Aug-23	$4.064	$3.916
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 16.2 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in August 2023 was 4.7 percent below the nationwide average of 17.0 cents. Last August, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 8.4 percent below the national average. From 2019 to 2021, electricity prices for the Washington area ranged from 5.8 to 2.9 percent below those for the nation in August. (See chart 2.)

  

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Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and United States, August 2019 - August 2023

Period	United States	Washington
Aug-19	$0.139	$0.131
Aug-20	$0.137	$0.133
Aug-21	$0.144	$0.138
Aug-22	$0.167	$0.153
Aug-23	$0.170	$0.162
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price paid by Washington area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.448 per therm in August 2023, 3.3 percent above the national average of $1.402 per therm. Last August, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 11.2 percent higher than the national average. From 2019 to 2021, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 9.6 to 29.3 percent above the national average in August. (See chart 3.)

  

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Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria and United States, August 2019 - August 2023

Period	United States	Washington
Aug-19	$1.034	$1.337
Aug-20	$1.031	$1.130
Aug-21	$1.267	$1.553
Aug-22	$1.694	$1.884
Aug-23	$1.402	$1.448
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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 September 2023 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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.