Boston area households paid an average of $2.245 a gallon for gasoline in December 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that area gasoline prices were up 16.8 cents compared to last December’s when they averaged $2.077 per gallon. Utility (piped) gas prices averaged $1.315 per therm in the Boston area in December 2016. Area natural gas prices increased 14.9 cents from one year ago when they averaged $1.166 per therm.  The average cost of electricity at 19.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in December was similar to the 19.4 cents spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

Boston area consumers paid $2.245 a gallon for gasoline which was similar to the national average of $2.289 in December 2016. One year ago, consumers in the Boston area paid $2.077 which was also similar to the national average of $2.125 for a gallon of gasoline. (See chart 1.) 

 

The 19.5 cents per kWh Boston households paid for electricity in December 2016 was 46.6 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.3 cents per kWh.  Last December, electricity costs were 45.9 percent higher in Boston compared to the nation. In each of the last five years, the price of electricity in Boston has exceeded that for the nation in the month of December, by 15 percent or more. (See chart 2.)

 

Prices paid by Boston area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.315 per therm, 35.3 percent higher than the national average in December 2016 ($0.972 per therm).  In December of 2015 local prices were $1.166 per therm or 30.7 percent higher than those of the nation ($0.892). In each of the last five years, the price of utility (piped) gas in Boston has exceeded that for the nation in the month of December, by 27.7 percent or more.  (See chart 3.)

 

The Boston-Brockton-Nashua, Mass.-N.H.-Maine-Conn. consolidated area consists of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Bristol, Hampden, and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts; Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire; York County in Maine; and Windham County in Connecticut.

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 sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:  202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Boston-Brockton-Nashua and the United States, December 2015 - December 2016, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline, all types, per gallon		Electricity per kilowatt hour		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Boston area	United States	Boston area	United States	Boston area	United States
2015
December	2.077	2.125	0.194	0.133	1.166	0.892
2016
January	1.951	2.034	0.203	0.134	1.168	0.898
February	1.788	1.833	0.203	0.134	1.167	0.895
March	1.907	2.021	0.205	0.134	1.117	0.884
April	2.138	2.196	0.205	0.134	1.117	0.879
May	2.261	2.324	0.197	0.133	0.925	0.877
June	2.300	2.422	0.188	0.138	1.006	0.891
July	2.195	2.287	0.186	0.139	1.041	0.931
August	2.135	2.218	0.186	0.139	1.041	0.943
September	2.15	2.269	0.187	0.139	1.155	0.954
October	2.198	2.304	0.19	0.134	1.155	0.961
November	2.186	2.246	0.195	0.131	1.344	0.97
December	2.245	2.289	0.195	0.133	1.315	0.972