Gasoline prices averaged $3.345 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in April 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were 14.8 cents higher compared to last April when they averaged $3.197 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 11.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in April 2019, similar to the 11.4 cents per kWh paid in April 2018. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.018 per therm in April was less than the $1.078 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $3.345 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 15.6 percent more than the $2.894 national average in April 2019. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 14.4 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has been within 15.6 percent of the national average in the month of April during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 11.2 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in April 2019 was 17.0 percent less than the nationwide average of 13.5 cents per kWh. Last April, electricity costs were 14.9 percent lower in Seattle compared to the nation. In each of the past five years during the month of April, prices paid by Seattle area consumers for electricity were less than the U.S. average by at least 14.9 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.018 per therm, 1.5 percent less than the national average in April 2019 ($1.034 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 3.3 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in April in the Seattle area has varied between 1.5 percent below and 28.4 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. metropolitan area consists of King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties of Washington.

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: 800-877-8339.

 Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue and the United States, April 2018-April 2019, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States
2018
April	$3.197	$2.795	$0.114	$0.134	$1.078	$1.044
May	3.346	2.963	0.111	0.136	1.086	1.050
June	3.379	2.970	0.111	0.139	1.086	1.042
July	3.311	2.930	0.111	0.139	1.086	1.038
August	3.221	2.919	0.111	0.139	1.083	1.055
September	3.248	2.930	0.111	0.138	1.083	1.030
October	3.406	2.945	0.108	0.136	1.081	1.023
November	3.374	2.733	0.108	0.134	0.983	1.020
December	3.143	2.479	0.108	0.135	0.983	1.085
2019
January	2.940	2.352	0.110	0.135	0.987	1.082
February	2.859	2.412	0.110	0.136	0.987	1.051
March	2.930	2.620	0.110	0.135	1.012	1.048
April	3.345	2.894	0.112	0.135	1.018	1.034