Gasoline prices averaged $4.545 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in March 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were similar to last March when they averaged $4.490 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2024, higher than the 12.6 cents price per kWh paid in March 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.188 per therm in March was lower than the $1.491 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $4.545 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 22.6 percent more than the $3.707 national average in March 2024. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 22.7 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 10.2 percent to 26.4 percent above the national average in the month of March during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

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Chart 1. Average prices for gasoline, the United States and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 2020–24 (as of March)

Period	United States	Seattle
Mar 2020	$2.334	$2.950
Mar 2021	$2.856	$3.165
Mar 2022	$4.401	$4.848
Mar 2023	$3.660	$4.490
Mar 2024	$3.707	$4.545
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 13.5 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in March 2024 was 22.4 percent less than the nationwide average of 17.4 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs were 24.1 percent lower in Seattle compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by Seattle area consumers for electricity were less than the U.S. average by 17.2 percent or more in the month of March. (See chart 2.)

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Chart 2. Average prices for electricity, the United States and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 2020–24 (as of March)

Period	United States	Seattle
Mar 2020	$0.134	$0.111
Mar 2021	$0.138	$0.114
Mar 2022	$0.150	$0.117
Mar 2023	$0.166	$0.126
Mar 2024	$0.174	$0.135
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.188 per therm, 16.9 percent less than the national average in March 2024 ($1.429 per therm. In the Seattle area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in March has varied between 16.9 percent below and 10.2 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 2020–24 (as of March)

Period	United States	Seattle
Mar 2020	$1.034	$1.139
Mar 2021	$1.144	$1.175
Mar 2022	$1.411	$1.269
Mar 2023	$1.493	$1.491
Mar 2024	$1.429	$1.188
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

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.