Boston area households paid an average of $2.893 a gallon for gasoline in August 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that area gasoline prices were up 51.7 cents, compared to last August when they averaged $2.376 per gallon. The average cost of electricity at 21.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in August, was 1.2 cents greater than the 20.4 cents spent last year. Utility (piped) gas prices averaged $1.128 per therm in the Boston area in August 2018, similar to a year ago when they averaged $1.127 per therm. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

Boston area consumers paid $2.893 a gallon for gasoline which was similar to the national average of $2.919 in August 2018. One year ago, consumers in the Boston area paid $2.376, which was also similar to the national average of $2.436 for a gallon of gasoline(See chart 1.)

The 21.6 cents per kWh Boston households paid for electricity in August 2018 was 55.4 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.9 cents per kWh.  Last August, electricity costs were 43.7 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 August, by 18.2 percent or more. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Boston area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.128 per therm, 6.9 percent higher than the national average in August 2018 ($1.055 per therm).  In August of 2017 local prices were 9.7 percent higher than those of the nation ($1.027). (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.

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; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Boston-Cambridge-Newton and the United States, August 2017 - August 2018, 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
2017
August	2.376	2.436	0.204	0.142	1.127	1.027
September	2.703	2.688	0.204	0.142	1.127	1.018
October	2.602	2.545	0.204	0.137	1.075	1.020
November	2.570	2.608	0.214	0.136	1.455	1.028
December	2.532	2.521	0.214	0.136	1.455	1.042
2018
January	2.552	2.596	0.233	0.135	− (1)	1.048
February	2.592	2.632	0.227	0.135	1.623	1.077
March	2.592	2.631	0.228	0.135	1.720	1.054
April	2.731	2.795	0.225	0.134	1.720	1.044
May	2.909	2.963	0.219	0.136	1.142	1.050
June	2.939	2.970	0.219	0.139	1.143	1.042
July	2.906	2.930	0.213	0.139	1.128	1.038
August	2.893	2.919	0.216	0.139	1.128	1.055
Footnotes: (1) Data inadequate for publication