Gasoline prices averaged $5.830 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in September 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were 27.5 cents higher than last September when they averaged $5.555 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 28.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2023, higher than the 24.7 cents price per kWh paid in September 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.806 per therm in September was lower than the $2.224 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $5.830 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 42.0 percent more than the $4.107 national average in September 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 25.1 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 32.1 percent to 42.0 percent above the national average in the month of September during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

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Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of September)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Sep 2019	$2.694	$3.769
Sep 2020	$2.260	$3.180
Sep 2021	$3.361	$4.440
Sep 2022	$3.990	$5.555
Sep 2023	$4.107	$5.830
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 28.0 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in September 2023 was 63.7 percent more than the nationwide average of 17.1 cents per kWh. Last September, electricity costs were 47.9 percent higher in Los Angeles compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by 35.3 percent or more in the month of September. (See chart 2.)

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Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of September)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Sep 2019	$0.139	$0.188
Sep 2020	$0.137	$0.199
Sep 2021	$0.144	$0.222
Sep 2022	$0.167	$0.247
Sep 2023	$0.171	$0.280
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.806 per therm, 31.2 percent more than the national average in September 2023 ($1.377 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 27.9 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the Los Angeles area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in September has varied between 26.0 percent and 37.8 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

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Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, the United States and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 2019–23 (as of September)

Period	United States	Los Angeles
Sep 2019	$1.019	$1.284
Sep 2020	$1.064	$1.466
Sep 2021	$1.302	$1.702
Sep 2022	$1.739	$2.224
Sep 2023	$1.377	$1.806
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. metropolitan area consists of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

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.