The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
For Release: Friday, March 18, 2022
22-471-CHI
MIDWEST INFORMATION OFFICE: Chicago, Ill.
Technical information:
(312) 353-1880 BLSInfoChicago@bls.gov www.bls.gov/regions/midwest
Media contact:
(312) 353-1138
Average Energy Prices, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin — February 2022
Gasoline prices averaged $3.796 per gallon in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area in February 2022, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that area gasoline
prices were up $1.133 compared to February 2021 when they averaged $2.663 per gallon. Chicago area
households paid an average of 16.0 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in February 2022, more than
the 14.1 cents per kilowatt-hour paid in February 2021. In February, the average cost of utility (piped) gas was
$1.132 per therm, up from its average price of 83.2 cents per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not
seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)
The $3.796 per gallon Chicago households paid for gasoline in February 2022 was 12.1 cents more than the
nationwide average of $3.675. In the previous four years in February (2018-2021), gasoline prices in the
Chicago area were as much as 10.4 cents more per gallon than the U.S. average. (See chart 1.)
2
The 16.0 cents per kWh that Chicago households paid for electricity in February 2022 was 8.1 percent more
than the national average cost of 14.8 cents per kWh. In the past four years in February (2018-2021), average
electricity costs in the Chicago area exceeded the national average by as much as 20.0 percent more. (See chart
2.)
Prices paid by Chicago area households for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were
$1.132 per therm in February 2022, 19.9 percent less than the national average of $1.413 per therm. In the
previous four years (2018-2021) in February, Chicago area utility (piped) gas costs were lower than the
national average, ranging from 22.4 percent to 26.7 percent less. (See chart 3.