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Monday, November 20, 2023
Gasoline prices averaged $5.664 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area in October 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were lower than last October when they averaged $6.165 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 35.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in October 2023, higher than the 30.7 cents per kWh paid in October 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $2.211 per therm in October was lower than the $2.519 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)
At $5.664 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 44.9 percent more than the $3.910 national average in October 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco area paid 49.3 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 34.4 to 49.6 percent above the national average in the month of October during the past five years. (See chart 1.)
The 35.0 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in October 2023 was 107.1 percent more than the nationwide average of 16.9 cents per kWh. Last October, electricity costs were 84.9 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 64.0 percent in the month of October. (See chart 2.)
Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $2.211 per therm, or 59.3 percent above the national average in October 2023 ($1.388 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 51.0 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in October in the San Francisco area has varied between 51.0 percent and 66.7 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.
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Last Modified Date: Monday, November 20, 2023