Gasoline prices averaged $5.773 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area in March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were $1.983 higher than last March when they averaged $3.790 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 31.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2022, higher than the 25.1 cents per kWh paid in March 2021. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $2.030 per therm in March was higher than the $1.656 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $5.773 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 31.2 percent more than the $4.401 national average in March 2022. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco area paid 32.7 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 31.2 to 37.7 percent above the national average in the month of March during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 31.0 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in March 2022 was 106.7 percent more than the nationwide average of 15.0 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs were 81.9 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 54.1 percent in the month of March. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $2.030 per therm, or 43.9 percent above the national average in March 2022 ($1.411 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 44.8 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in March in the San Francisco area has varied between 27.0 percent and 44.8 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.

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 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, March 2021–March 2022, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	San Francisco area	United States	San Francisco area	United States	San Francisco area
2021
March	$2.856	$3.790	$0.138	$0.251	$1.144	$1.656
April	2.907	3.943	0.139	0.257	1.166	1.707
May	3.041	4.117	0.140	0.257	1.201	1.695
June	3.245	4.396	0.142	0.261	1.219	1.704
July	3.326	4.472	0.143	0.261	1.241	1.678
August	3.351	4.572	0.144	0.263	1.267	1.712
September	3.361	4.559	0.144	0.263	1.302	1.932
October	3.477	4.674	0.142	0.258	1.383	2.166
November	3.576	4.864	0.142	0.258	1.401	2.052
December	3.505	4.844	0.142	0.259	1.402	2.047
2022
January	3.500	4.809	0.147	0.279	1.409	2.156
February	3.675	4.853	0.148	0.279	1.413	2.144
March	4.401	5.773	0.150	0.310	1.411	2.030