Average Energy Prices, New York-Newark-Jersey City – August 2021

Gasoline prices averaged $3.314 per gallon in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area in August 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that gasoline prices were up $1.069 from last August, when area households paid $2.245 per gallon. Electricity prices averaged 22.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), up from the 20.9 cents per kWh paid in August 2020. The average price of utility (piped) gas, at $1.321 per therm, was greater than last August's price of $1.196. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.314 a gallon, the price of gasoline in the New York area was close to the $3.351 national average in August 2021. One year earlier, consumers in the New York area paid the same as the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline in August has been close to the national average four of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 22.6 cents per kWh New York area households paid for electricity in August 2021 was 56.9 percent more than the national average of 14.4 cents per kWh. Last August, electricity prices were 52.6 percent higher in the New York area compared to the nation. Over the past five years, electricity prices for local area consumers in August were 41.5 to 56.9 percent more than the national average. (See chart 2.)

The average price paid in August 2021 by New York area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.321 per therm, 4.3 percent more than the national average of $1.267. In August 2020, area consumers paid 16.0 percent more than the national average. The per-therm cost for natural gas in the New York area in August exceeded the U.S. average by at least 6.7 percent from 2017 to 2020. (See chart 3.)

The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

The Consumer Price Index for September 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	New York	United States	New York	United States	New York	United States
2020
August	$2.245	$2.245	$0.209	$0.137	$1.196	$1.031
September	2.261	2.260	0.211	0.137	1.182	1.064
October	2.248	2.228	0.202	0.135	1.171	1.067
November	2.209	2.159	0.201	0.136	1.259	1.104
December	2.285	2.235	0.211	0.136	1.249	1.114
2021
January	2.446	2.391	0.213	0.136	1.282	1.119
February	2.612	2.559	0.219	0.137	1.321	1.124
March	2.870	2.856	0.188	0.138	1.310	1.144
April	2.911	2.907	0.208	0.139	1.276	1.166
May	3.038	3.041	0.214	0.140	1.250	1.201
June	3.202	3.245	0.222	0.142	1.289	1.219
July	3.286	3.326	0.216	0.143	1.311	1.241
August	3.314	3.351	0.226	0.144	1.321	1.267

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.