Average Energy Prices, Seattle Tacoma Bellevue – August 2024

Gasoline prices averaged $4.469 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area in August 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were lower than last August when they averaged $5.228 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 13.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in August 2024, higher than the 12.7 cents price per kWh paid in August 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.735 per therm in August 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 $4.469 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 22.5 percent more than the $3.648 national average in August 2024. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 28.6 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 18.8 percent to 28.6 percent above the national average in the month of August during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 13.9 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in August 2024 was 21.5 percent less than the nationwide average of 17.7 cents per kWh. Last August, electricity costs were 25.3 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 August. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.735 per therm, 23.8 percent higher than the national average in August 2024 ($1.401 per therm). In the Seattle area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in August has varied between 25.6 percent below and 23.8 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

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, August 2023-August 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
August	$4.064	$5.228	$0.170	$0.127	$1.402	$1.589
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

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