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News Release Information

24-507-ATL
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Consumer Price Index, South Region — February 2024

Prices in the South up 0.9 percent in February and 3.7 percent over the past year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.9 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The shelter index continued to rise in February and was a leading contributor to the monthly all items increase. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South increased 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending in February, after increasing 3.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in January. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less and food and energy advanced 4.4 percent over the past 12 months. The food index continued to increase, up 2.4 percent over the past year. In contrast, the energy index declined 1.3 percent over the last 12 months. (See table 1.)


Food

The food index rose 0.4 percent in February, led by a 0.5-percent increase in the food at home index. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month, including other food at home (+1.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+0.8 percent). In contrast, the index for dairy and related products declined 0.8 percent in February. The index for food away from home increased 0.2 percent in February.   

The food index advanced 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending in February, reflecting increases in the food away from home (+4.7 percent) and food at home (+1.1 percent) indexes. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the past 12 months. The index for other food at home increased 2.9 percent over the past year. The index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 2.0 percent for the 12 months ending in February, and the index for cereals and bakery products rose 1.8 percent over that period. The fruits and vegetables index rose 1.3 percent over the past year. 

Energy

The energy index rose 2.7 percent in February, reflecting a 5.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The indexes for electricity and natural gas changed little over the month, down 0.1 percent each in February.

The energy index fell 1.3 percent for the 12 months ending in February, led by a 3.5-percent decline in the gasoline index. The natural gas index also declined over the past year, down 4.2 percent, while the index for electricity rose 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in February, led by a 0.7-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the indexes for owners’ equivalent rent and rent of primary residence each rose 0.5 percent over the month. Apparel (+4.9 percent) was also among the indexes to increase in February.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.4 percent for the 12 months ending in February, after increasing 4.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in January. The increase was largely contributed to shelter (+6.4 percent). The index for owners’ equivalent rent increased 6.4 percent over the past year while the index for rent of primary residence rose 6.7 percent.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. In February, the all items index increased 1.0 percent in the South Atlantic division, 0.9 percent in the East South Central division, and 0.8 percent in the West South Central division.  

Over the year, the all items index increased 3.9 percent in the South Atlantic division. The all items index also increased in the East South Central and West South Central divisions over the past year, up 3.5 percent each.  

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

0.3 2.3 0.5 1.6 0.9 7.8 0.8 6.9 0.6 3.4

February

0.2 1.9 0.5 2.0 1.1 8.4 0.6 6.4 0.9 3.7

March

-0.1 1.1 0.8 2.9 1.4 9.1 0.4 5.3

April

-0.8 -0.2 0.7 4.4 0.5 8.8 0.7 5.5

May

-0.2 -0.4 0.8 5.6 1.2 9.2 0.2 4.4

June

0.6 0.3 0.9 5.8 1.5 9.8 0.3 3.3

July

0.6 0.6 0.5 5.8 0.1 9.4 0.2 3.4

August

0.4 1.1 0.3 5.6 -0.2 8.9 0.6 4.1

September

0.2 1.3 0.3 5.8 0.2 8.7 0.2 4.2

October

0.1 1.3 1.0 6.6 0.4 8.1 -0.1 3.7

November

-0.1 1.2 0.4 7.2 0.1 7.7 -0.2 3.4

December

0.2 1.4 0.3 7.4 -0.3 7.0 -0.1 3.7

The Consumer Price Index for March 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for the South region is published monthly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Feb.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Expenditure category

All Items

298.754 300.421 303.144 3.7 1.5 0.9

All items (December 1977=100)

484.621 487.325 491.741 - - -

Food and beverages

318.261 318.939 320.288 2.4 0.6 0.4

Food

322.047 322.783 324.053 2.4 0.6 0.4

Food at home

301.283 301.893 303.445 1.1 0.7 0.5

Cereal and bakery products

361.553 362.382 365.242 1.8 1.0 0.8

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

314.436 312.900 313.785 -1.0 -0.2 0.3

Dairy and related products

267.504 269.656 267.440 -1.7 0.0 -0.8

Fruits and vegetables

332.370 333.905 335.535 1.3 1.0 0.5

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

214.046 216.373 217.681 2.0 1.7 0.6

Other food at home

271.398 271.317 273.974 2.9 0.9 1.0

Food away from home

357.099 358.053 358.820 4.7 0.5 0.2

Alcoholic beverages

265.499 265.407 267.801 1.8 0.9 0.9

Housing

305.736 308.134 309.946 5.2 1.4 0.6

Shelter

356.550 359.429 361.886 6.4 1.5 0.7

Rent of primary residence

383.455 385.215 387.004 6.7 0.9 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)

359.642 361.901 363.588 6.4 1.1 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)

359.626 361.882 363.559 6.4 1.1 0.5

Fuels and utilities

296.959 299.781 299.965 1.8 1.0 0.1

Household energy

242.513 244.578 244.441 0.7 0.8 -0.1

Energy services

242.361 244.481 244.317 0.8 0.8 -0.1

Electricity

238.439 240.057 239.900 1.7 0.6 -0.1

Utility (piped) gas service

248.447 253.767 253.566 -4.2 2.1 -0.1

Household furnishings and operations

147.449 148.074 148.623 0.5 0.8 0.4

Apparel

136.490 136.842 143.513 2.0 5.1 4.9

Transportation

264.898 264.909 270.629 3.7 2.2 2.2

Private transportation

267.562 267.626 273.161 4.0 2.1 2.1

New and used motor vehicles(2)

128.090 126.067 126.874 -0.4 -0.9 0.6

New vehicles

186.222 186.403 186.252 0.2 0.0 -0.1

New cars and trucks(2)(3)

- - - - - -

New cars(3)

184.198 184.565 184.059 -0.2 -0.1 -0.3

Used cars and trucks

186.322 179.336 179.817 -2.1 -3.5 0.3

Motor fuel

255.895 257.049 271.125 -3.7 6.0 5.5

Gasoline (all types)

253.841 255.170 269.248 -3.5 6.1 5.5

Unleaded regular(3)

246.747 248.093 262.325 -3.7 6.3 5.7

Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

290.191 291.515 305.129 -2.2 5.1 4.7

Unleaded premium(3)

286.452 287.589 299.799 -1.7 4.7 4.2

Medical care

523.349 528.189 528.925 1.4 1.1 0.1

Medical care commodities

386.927 379.267 380.170 2.3 -1.7 0.2

Medical care services

568.765 577.887 578.563 1.2 1.7 0.1

Professional services

392.457 397.262 396.911 1.0 1.1 -0.1

Recreation(2)

136.841 138.484 139.336 2.3 1.8 0.6

Education and communication(2)

140.071 140.243 141.135 0.5 0.8 0.6

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)

1,488.507 1,500.530 1,509.285 4.3 1.4 0.6

Other goods and services

518.206 523.131 525.856 3.8 1.5 0.5

Commodity and service group

All Items

298.754 300.421 303.144 3.7 1.5 0.9

Commodities

218.669 218.482 221.149 0.6 1.1 1.2

Commodities less food and beverages

174.562 174.085 177.087 -0.4 1.4 1.7

Nondurables less food and beverages

223.443 224.052 230.710 0.1 3.3 3.0

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel

276.045 276.810 283.499 -0.4 2.7 2.4

Durables

128.134 127.053 127.570 -1.3 -0.4 0.4

Services

379.704 383.227 386.014 5.8 1.7 0.7

Rent of shelter(1)

367.209 370.215 372.778 6.5 1.5 0.7

Transportation services

478.494 484.659 497.044 14.0 3.9 2.6

Other services

392.642 395.721 397.583 2.8 1.3 0.5

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

286.216 287.721 290.521 3.9 1.5 1.0

All items less food

294.971 296.765 299.687 3.9 1.6 1.0

All items less shelter

277.213 278.367 281.243 2.3 1.5 1.0

Commodities less food

177.303 176.833 179.831 -0.3 1.4 1.7

Nondurables

268.133 268.776 272.986 1.4 1.8 1.6

Nondurables less food

225.463 226.031 232.436 0.2 3.1 2.8

Nondurables less food and apparel

273.635 274.321 280.599 -0.3 2.5 2.3

Services less rent of shelter(1)

406.734 411.080 414.254 4.9 1.8 0.8

Services less medical care services

361.749 364.827 367.735 6.3 1.7 0.8

Energy

243.798 245.378 252.118 -1.3 3.4 2.7

All items less energy

305.894 307.580 309.928 4.1 1.3 0.8

All items less food and energy

303.685 305.521 308.042 4.4 1.4 0.8

Commodities less food and energy commodities

167.835 167.162 168.816 0.0 0.6 1.0

Energy commodities

261.119 262.271 276.252 -3.7 5.8 5.3

Services less energy services

394.204 397.874 400.948 6.1 1.7 0.8

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.

- Data not available.
Note: Data not seasonally adjusted.
Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024