Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

24-686-PHI
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Average Energy Prices, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington – March 2024

Gasoline prices averaged $3.468 per gallon in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area in March 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices were unchanged from last March. Philadelphia-area households paid an average of 20.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2024, 6.7 percent higher than the average of 19.3 cents in March 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.363 per therm in March 2024 was 7.9 percent lower than its price of $1.480 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.468 per gallon, the price for gasoline in the Philadelphia area was 6.4 percent lower than the national average of $3.707 per gallon in March 2024. In the Philadelphia area from 2020 to 2023, prices for gasoline in March ranged from 5.2 percent lower to 4.7 percent higher than the U.S. average. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, the United States and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2020–24 (as of March)

The 20.6 cents per kWh that Philadelphia households paid for electricity in March 2024 was 18.4 percent higher than the nationwide average cost of 17.4 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity prices in Philadelphia were 16.3 percent higher than the nation. From 2020 to 2022, prices paid by Philadelphia-area consumers for electricity in March ranged between 10.1 percent to 14.7 percent higher than the U.S. average. (See chart 2.)

  Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, the United States and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2020–24 (as of March)

The price paid by Philadelphia-area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.363 per therm in March 2024, 4.6 percent lower than the national average of $1.429 per therm. Utility (piped) gas prices in the Philadelphia area in March for the previous four years ranged from 6.2 percent lower to 7.4 percent higher compared to the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

  Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, the United States and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, 2020–24 (as of March)

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, March 2023–March 2024, not seasonally adjusted
Year and month Gasoline per gallon Electricity per kWh Utility (piped) gas per therm
United States Philadelphia area United States Philadelphia area United States Philadelphia area

2023

March

$3.660 $3.470 $0.166 $0.193 $1.493 $1.480

April

3.839 3.666 0.165 0.192 1.413 1.466

May

3.794 3.656 0.165 0.193 1.385 1.477

June

3.821 3.677 0.170 0.202 1.371 1.408

July

3.842 3.750 0.169 0.202 1.395 1.413

August

4.064 3.939 0.170 0.202 1.402 1.409

September

4.107 3.915 0.171 0.196 1.377 1.408

October

3.910 3.727 0.169 0.194 1.388 1.382

November

3.623 3.575 0.168 0.194 1.442 1.357

December

3.411 3.450 0.169 0.190 1.429 1.326

2024

January

3.353 3.362 0.173 0.200 1.452 1.338

February

3.486 3.426 0.173 0.201 1.465 1.340

March

3.707 3.468 0.174 0.206 1.429 1.363

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024