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Friday, August 11, 2023
Gasoline prices averaged $4.956 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area in July 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were $1.110 cents lower than last July when they averaged $6.056 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 34.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in July 2023, higher than the 31.1 cents per kWh paid in July 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.809 per therm in July was lower than the $2.318 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)
At $4.956 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 29.0 percent more than the $3.842 national average in July 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco area paid 27.0 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 27.0 to 39.4 percent above the national average in the month of July during the past five years. (See chart 1.)
The 34.9 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in July 2023 was 106.5 percent more than the nationwide average of 16.9 cents per kWh. Last July, electricity costs were 89.6 percent higher in San Francisco compared to the nation. In each of the past five years, prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by at least 58.6 percent in the month of July. (See chart 2.)
Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.809 per therm, or 29.7 percent above the national average in July 2023 ($1.395 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 42.3 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in July in the San Francisco area has varied between 29.7 percent and 59.1 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)
The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. metropolitan area consists of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo 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.
Year and month | Gasoline per gallon | Electricity per kWh | Utility (piped) gas per therm | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | San Francisco area | United States | San Francisco area | United States | San Francisco area | |
2022 | ||||||
July | $4.768 | $6.056 | $0.164 | $0.311 | $1.629 | $2.318 |
August | 4.205 | 5.525 | 0.167 | 0.311 | 1.694 | 2.242 |
September | 3.990 | 5.671 | 0.167 | 0.311 | 1.739 | 2.424 |
October | 4.130 | 6.165 | 0.166 | 0.307 | 1.668 | 2.519 |
November | 3.958 | 5.410 | 0.163 | 0.307 | 1.616 | 2.325 |
December | 3.459 | 4.595 | 0.165 | 0.307 | 1.667 | 2.348 |
2023 | ||||||
January | 3.555 | 4.569 | 0.168 | 0.317 | 1.819 | 2.683 |
February | 3.622 | 4.801 | 0.168 | 0.317 | 1.609 | 2.769 |
March | 3.660 | 4.992 | 0.166 | 0.332 | 1.493 | 2.137 |
April | 3.839 | 5.000 | 0.165 | 0.332 | 1.413 | 1.772 |
May | 3.794 | 4.926 | 0.165 | 0.332 | 1.385 | 1.700 |
June | 3.821 | 4.932 | 0.170 | 0.330 | 1.371 | 1.756 |
July | 3.842 | 4.956 | 0.169 | 0.349 | 1.395 | 1.809 |
Last Modified Date: Friday, August 11, 2023