Gasoline prices averaged $4.229 a gallon in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area in April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that area gasoline prices were up $1.399 compared to last April when they averaged $2.830 per gallon. Boston area households paid an average of 26.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in April 2022, up from 23.8 cents per kWh in April 2021. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $2.003 per therm in April was up from $1.578 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $4.229 a gallon, costs for gasoline in the Boston area were about the same as the national average of $4.369 a gallon in April 2022. Last April, gasoline costs in Boston were about the same as the nation. Over the past five Aprils, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Boston have matched the U.S. average except for April 2019 and April 2020. (See chart 1.)

The 26.8 cents per kWh that Boston households paid for electricity in April 2022 was 77.5 percent higher than the nationwide average cost of 15.1 cents per kWh. Last April, electricity costs in Boston were 71.2 percent higher than the nation. Boston area electricity costs have exceeded the national average by at least 67.9 percent over the past five Aprils. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Boston area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $2.003 per therm in April 2022, 38.6 percent above the national average of $1.445 per therm. Utility (piped) gas prices in the Boston area have been above the national average over the previous five years during April, by at least 35.3 percent. (See chart 3.)

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H., Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts; Rockingham, Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

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, 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, April 2021–April 2022, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	Boston area	United States	Boston area	United States	Boston area
2021
April	$2.907	$2.830	$0.139	$0.238	$1.166	$1.578
May	3.041	2.925	0.140	0.227	1.201	1.258
June	3.245	3.021	0.142	0.229	1.219	1.258
July	3.326	3.091	0.143	0.225	1.241	1.258
August	3.351	3.123	0.144	0.228	1.267	1.286
September	3.361	3.164	0.144	0.228	1.302	1.286
October	3.477	3.324	0.142	0.228	1.383	1.397
November	3.576	3.486	0.142	0.244	1.401	1.849
December	3.505	3.475	0.142	0.245	1.402	1.894
2022
January	3.500	3.452	0.147	0.266	1.409	1.853
February	3.675	3.582	0.148	0.269	1.413	1.853
March	4.401	4.297	0.150	0.267	1.411	2.003
April	4.369	4.229	0.151	0.268	1.445	2.003