Gasoline prices averaged $2.222 per gallon in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area in July 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Bryan Droste noted that area gasoline prices were 69.6 cents lower compared to a year ago in July when they averaged $2.918 per gallon. Detroit area households paid an average of 17.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in July 2020, similar to the 17.3 cents paid in July 2019. In July 2020, the average cost of utility (piped) gas was 85.7 cents per therm, comparable to the average price of 86.3 cents per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.222 per gallon in July 2020, costs for gasoline in the Detroit area were similar to the national average of $2.243 per gallon. Over the previous four years in July (2016-2019) local area gasoline costs have ranged from 3.8 cents to 15.8 cents higher than the national average. (See chart 1.)

The 17.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) that Detroit area households paid for electricity in July 2020 was 27.7 percent more than the nationwide average cost of 13.7 cents per kWh. In the previous four years (2016-2019) in July, Detroit area electricity costs exceeded the national average, ranging from 14.7 percent to 23.6 percent more. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Detroit area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were 85.7 cents per therm in July 2020, 16.6 percent below the national average of $1.027 per therm. In the previous four years (2016-2019) in July, Detroit area utility (piped) gas costs were lower than the national average, ranging from 16.1 percent to 25.1 percent less. (See chart 3.)

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, core based statistical area covered in this release is comprised of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Historical average energy prices for the U.S. and select metropolitan areas are available at www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/data/averageenergyprices_selectedareas_table.htm.

The Consumer Price Index for August 2020 is scheduled to be released Friday, September 11, 2020.

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 from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, and the United States, July 2019 – July 2020, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Detroit area	United States	Detroit area	United States	Detroit area	United States
2019
July	$2.918	$2.836	$0.173	$0.140	$0.863	$1.029
August	2.776	2.716	0.172	0.139	0.882	1.034
September	2.724	2.694	0.173	0.139	0.860	1.019
October	2.637	2.741	0.171	0.136	0.896	1.041
November	2.541	2.687	–	0.133	0.875	1.058
December	2.574	2.652	0.165	0.133	0.879	1.057
2020
January	2.569	2.631	0.163	0.134	0.886	1.066
February	2.382	2.530	0.164	0.134	0.877	1.050
March	2.117	2.334	0.164	0.134	0.835	1.034
April	1.548	1.946	0.164	0.133	0.831	1.028
May	1.800	1.946	0.172	0.134	0.846	1.037
June	2.083	2.141	0.175	0.137	0.862	1.037
July	2.222	2.243	0.175	0.137	0.857	1.027
Note: Dash (–) indicates no data available.