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News Release Information

24-2199-SAN
Monday, October 21, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Average Energy Prices, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue – September 2024

Gasoline prices averaged $4.394 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in September 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were lower than last September when they averaged $5.270 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 13.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2024, higher than the 12.8 cents price per kWh paid in September 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.705 per therm in September was higher than the $1.589 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $4.394 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 26.3 percent more than the $3.478 national average in September 2024. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 28.3 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 19.0 percent to 28.3 percent above the national average in the month of September during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

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

The 13.9 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in September 2024 was 21.9 percent less than the nationwide average of 17.8 cents per kWh. Last September, electricity costs were 25.1 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 16.8 percent or more in the month of September. (See chart 2.)

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

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.705 per therm, 21.9 percent higher than the national average in September 2024 ($1.399 per therm). In the Seattle area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in September has varied between 27.3 percent below and 21.9 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

Chart 3. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, the United States and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 2020–24 (as of September)

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, September 2023–September 2024, not seasonally adjusted
Year and month Gasoline per gallon Electricity per kWh Utility (piped) gas per therm
United States Seattle area United States Seattle area United States Seattle area

2023

September

$4.107 $5.270 $0.171 $0.128 $1.377 $1.589

October

3.910 5.120 0.169 0.127 1.388 1.644

November

3.623 4.742 0.168 0.127 1.442 1.144

December

3.411 4.499 0.169 0.127 1.429 0.985

2024

January

3.353 4.311 0.173 0.135 1.452 1.078

February

3.486 4.225 0.173 0.135 1.465 1.146

March

3.707 4.545 0.174 0.135 1.429 1.188

April

3.907 4.870 0.173 0.137 1.375 1.334

May

3.885 4.868 0.175 0.139 1.369 1.625

June

3.729 4.644 0.178 0.139 1.407 1.700

July

3.747 4.530 0.178 0.139 1.408 1.731

August

3.648 4.469 0.177 0.139 1.401 1.735

September

3.478 4.394 0.178 0.139 1.399 1.705

 

Last Modified Date: Monday, October 21, 2024