Average Energy Prices, San Francisco Oakland Hayward – August 2024

Gasoline prices averaged $4.791 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward 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 $5.226 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 38.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in August 2024, higher than the 34.9 cents price per kWh paid in August 2023. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $2.458 per therm in August was higher than the $1.865 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $4.791 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 31.3 percent more than the $3.648 national average in August 2024. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco 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 28.6 percent to 43.9 percent above the national average in the month of August during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 38.1 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in August 2024 was 115.3 percent more than the nationwide average of 17.7 cents per kWh. Last August, electricity costs were 105.3 percent higher in San Francisco compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by 75.2 percent or more in the month of August. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $2.458 per therm, 75.4 percent more than the national average in August 2024 ($1.401 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 33.0 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the San Francisco area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in August has varied between 32.3 percent and 75.4 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, August 2023-August 2024, 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
2023
August	$4.064	$5.226	$0.170	$0.349	$1.402	$1.865
September	4.107	5.616	0.171	0.354	1.377	2.041
October	3.910	5.664	0.169	0.350	1.388	2.211
November	3.623	5.165	0.168	0.350	1.442	2.081
December	3.411	4.799	0.169	0.350	1.429	2.245
2024
January	3.353	4.745	0.173	0.412	1.452	2.433
February	3.486	4.687	0.173	0.412	1.465	2.412
March	3.707	5.082	0.174	0.413	1.429	2.189
April	3.907	5.621	0.173	0.413	1.375	2.032
May	3.885	5.456	0.175	0.413	1.369	2.051
June	3.729	5.081	0.178	0.419	1.407	2.137
July	3.747	4.881	0.178	0.381	1.408	2.324
August	3.648	4.791	0.177	0.381	1.401	2.458

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