Gasoline prices averaged $2.767 a gallon in the Atlanta area in September 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were 49.7 cents higher than last September when they averaged $2.270 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 14.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2017, unchanged from September 2016. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.581 per therm was more than the $1.471 per therm spent last September. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Atlanta area consumers paid $2.767 a gallon for gasoline in September 2017, compared to the $2.688 paid nationally. A year earlier, prices paid for a gallon of gasoline by consumers in Atlanta were similar to the national average. The local price of gasoline in Atlanta for the month of September has been close to the national average in four of the last five years. (See chart 1.)

The 14.3 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in September was similar to the nationwide average (14.2 cents per kWh). Last September, electricity costs in the Atlanta area compared to the nation. In three of the past five years, prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for electricity in the month of September have been close to the U.S. average. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.581 per therm, or 55.3 percent higher than the national average in September 2017 ($1.018 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 54.2 percent more per therm for natural gas than the nation. In four of the last five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in September for Atlanta households was at least 52 percent more than the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Atlanta, Ga., Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

The Consumer Price Index for October 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.

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: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Atlanta and the United States, September 2016-2017, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Atlanta area	United States	Atlanta area	United States	Atlanta area	United States
2016
September	2.270	2.269	0.143	0.139	1.471	0.954
October	2.287	2.304	0.113	0.134	1.476	0.961
November	2.208	2.246	0.108	0.131	1.479	0.970
December	2.199	2.289	0.108	0.133	1.531	0.972
2017
January	2.251	2.409	0.108	0.134	1.592	1.000
February	2.186	2.360	0.108	0.135	1.556	1.003
March	2.191	2.386	0.109	0.134	1.530	0.989
April	2.296	2.479	0.109	0.135	1.570	1.000
May	2.197	2.448	0.114	0.137	1.568	1.036
June	2.196	2.400	0.143	0.142	1.577	1.040
July	2.231	2.344	0.143	0.143	1.581	1.031
August	2.276	2.436	0.143	0.142	1.576	1.027
September	2.767	2.688	0.143	0.142	1.581	1.018