Boston area households paid an average of $2.180 a gallon for gasoline in October 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that this was more than $1.10 below the October 2014 price of $3.285 per gallon. Utility (piped) gas prices averaged $0.762 per therm in the Boston area in October 2015. Area natural gas prices were down from one year ago when they averaged $0.994 per therm. In contrast to gasoline and utility (piped) gas prices, the average cost of electricity at 17.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in October was up from 16.7 cents per kWh spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.180 the price of a gallon of gasoline in the Boston area was 7.5 percent lower than the national average of $2.357 in October 2015. One year ago, the local price of gasoline at $3.285 per gallon was similar to the national average of $3.241. (See chart 1.) 

 

The 17.7 cents per kWh Boston households paid for electricity in October 2015 was 30.1 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.6 cents per kWh. Last October, electricity costs were 22.8 percent higher in Boston compared to the nation. In each of the last five years, the price of electricity in Boston has exceeded that for the nation in the month of October, by 12 percent or more. The percent difference has widened since October 2012 from a low of 12 percent to a high of 30 percent in October 2015. (See chart 2.)

 

Prices paid by Boston area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $0.762 per therm, 16.2 percent below the national average in October 2015 ($0.909 per therm). In October of 2014 local prices were similar to those of the nation. (See chart 3.)

 

The Boston-Brockton-Nashua, Mass.-N.H.-Maine-Conn. consolidated area consists of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk Counties and parts of Bristol, Hampden, and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts; parts of Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire; part of York County in Maine; and part of Windham County in Connecticut.

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, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 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; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Boston-Brockton-Nashua and the United States, October 2014 - October 2015, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline, all types, per gallon		Electricity per kilowatt hour		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Boston area	United States	Boston area	United States	Boston area	United States
2014
October	3.285	3.241	0.167	0.136	0.994	1.033
November	3.011	2.945	0.203	0.134	1.432	1.035
December	2.785	2.618	0.203	0.135	1.432	1.060
2015
January	2.297	2.170	0.225	0.138	1.384	1.036
February	2.255	2.308	0.225	0.138	1.303	1.007
March	2.437	2.544	0.226	0.136	1.216	0.985
April	2.411	2.545	0.225	0.137	1.217	0.947
May	2.685	2.832	0.197	0.137	0.850	0.930
June	2.757	2.889	0.199	0.143	0.850	0.942
July	2.753	2.893	0.179	0.142	0.844	0.933
August	2.592	2.745	0.179	0.142	0.790	0.932
September	2.364	2.463	0.179	0.141	0.780	0.921
October	2.180	2.357	0.177	0.136	0.762	0.909