Gasoline prices averaged $3.314 per gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in December 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that area gasoline prices decreased 2.2 percent from last December when they averaged $3.389 per gallon. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.378 per therm in December 2023 was down 20.3 percent from $1.730 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.314 per gallon, Washington area consumers paid 2.8 percent less than the national average of $3.411 for a gallon of gasoline in December 2023. From 2019 to 2022, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington ranged from 2.0 below to 0.4 percent above those for the nation in December. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, the United States and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2019–23 (as of December)

Period	United States	DC
Dec 2019	$2.652	$2.610
Dec 2020	$2.235	$2.245
Dec 2021	$3.505	$3.442
Dec 2022	$3.459	$3.389
Dec 2023	$3.411	$3.314
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The nationwide average price per kWh for electricity in December 2023 was 16.9 cents. From 2019 to 2022, electricity prices for the Washington area ranged from 7.0 to 4.5 percent below those for the nation in December. (See chart 2.)

  

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Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, the United States and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2019–23 (as of December)

Period	United States	DC
Dec 2019	$0.133	$0.127
Dec 2020	$0.136	$0.127
Dec 2021	$0.142	$0.132
Dec 2022	$0.165	$0.154
Dec 2023	$0.169	–
Note: December 2023 price data for DC is not available. 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 $1.378 per therm in December 2023, 3.6 percent below the national average of $1.429 per therm. Last December, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 3.8 percent higher than the national average. From 2019 to 2021, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 2.1 to 17.3 percent above the national average in December. (See chart 3.)

  

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Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, the United States and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 2019–23 (as of December)

Period	United States	DC
Dec 2019	$1.057	$1.240
Dec 2020	$1.114	$1.147
Dec 2021	$1.402	$1.431
Dec 2022	$1.667	$1.730
Dec 2023	$1.429	$1.378
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 January 2023 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 13, 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.