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News Release Information

24-515-SAN
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — February 2024

Area prices were up 1.2 percent over the past two months, up 4.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.2 percent for the two months ending in February 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the February increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 4.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 1.2 percent. Energy prices decreased 2.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Seattle, February 2021-February 2024
Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.3 percent, led by higher prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (6.9 percent). Prices for food away from home declined 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.2 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 1.6 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (8.7 percent) and fruits and vegetables (5.8 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.0 percent for the two months ending in February. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-6.2 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 16.4 percent, and prices for electricity increased 5.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 2.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-4.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 23.2 percent, while electricity prices increased 7.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (2.9 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-4.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.2 percent. Higher prices for shelter (5.1 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.3 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

1.0 2.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 8.1 1.4 8.0 1.2 4.3

April

-0.6 1.3 1.1 3.4 2.1 9.1 1.0 6.9

June

0.2 0.9 2.2 5.5 3.2 10.1 1.0 4.6

August

1.4 1.6 1.1 5.2 0.0 9.0 0.8 5.4

October

-0.1 2.1 1.1 6.5 1.0 8.9 0.4 4.8

December

-0.4 1.4 0.6 7.6 0.1 8.4 -0.3 4.4

The April 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2024.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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, and 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

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

Expenditure category

All items

344.982 - 349.288 4.3 1.2 -

All items (1967=100)

1,051.640 - 1,064.765 - - -

Food and beverages

358.093 - 360.356 1.5 0.6 -

Food

361.374 - 363.760 1.2 0.7 -

Food at home

321.419 323.449 325.596 1.6 1.3 0.7

Cereals and bakery products

397.173 396.774 410.426 8.7 3.3 3.4

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

286.283 280.022 281.956 -4.2 -1.5 0.7

Dairy and related products

292.742 274.627 293.671 -0.6 0.3 6.9

Fruits and vegetables

502.072 516.878 512.525 5.8 2.1 -0.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

403.738 421.061 431.649 5.0 6.9 2.5

Other food at home

247.201 252.861 247.089 -0.8 0.0 -2.3

Food away from home

425.169 - 423.476 0.6 -0.4 -

Alcoholic beverages

314.925 - 315.937 4.8 0.3 -

Housing

412.902 - 417.527 4.4 1.1 -

Shelter

477.381 477.585 480.280 5.1 0.6 0.6

Rent of primary residence(2)

482.306 482.157 485.044 4.9 0.6 0.6

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

501.528 503.393 506.812 5.9 1.1 0.7

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

501.528 503.393 506.812 5.9 1.1 0.7

Fuels and utilities

312.361 - 330.417 2.5 5.8 -

Household energy

269.263 285.779 289.127 -1.0 7.4 1.2

Energy services(2)

315.426 336.135 340.028 -0.7 7.8 1.2

Electricity(2)

363.727 385.321 385.321 7.5 5.9 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

146.780 160.656 170.790 -23.2 16.4 6.3

Household furnishings and operations

226.421 - 232.258 1.1 2.6 -

Apparel

131.670 - 137.896 5.8 4.7 -

Transportation

295.964 - 298.729 4.0 0.9 -

Private transportation

315.029 - 309.822 3.3 -1.7 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

124.792 - 124.062 -0.3 -0.6 -

New vehicles(1)

224.361 - 225.255 1.0 0.4 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

429.134 - 411.375 -2.3 -4.1 -

Motor fuel

486.227 464.819 455.550 -4.3 -6.3 -2.0

Gasoline (all types)

493.702 472.103 463.037 -4.3 -6.2 -1.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

533.809 509.978 499.601 -4.7 -6.4 -2.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

393.035 376.486 370.106 -3.3 -5.8 -1.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

461.159 442.447 435.740 -2.6 -5.5 -1.5

Medical care

468.864 - 482.691 11.7 2.9 -

Recreation(6)

122.195 - 123.398 4.3 1.0 -

Education and communication(6)

147.697 - 149.770 0.8 1.4 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

- - - - - -

Other goods and services

517.189 - 525.481 8.5 1.6 -

Commodity and service group

All items

344.982 - 349.288 4.3 1.2 -

Commodities

243.635 - 242.769 0.4 -0.4 -

Commodities less food & beverages

190.290 - 188.560 -0.2 -0.9 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

226.190 - 226.346 1.9 0.1 -

Durables

154.402 - 151.741 -2.0 -1.7 -

Services

439.727 - 448.653 6.6 2.0 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

339.713 - 343.503 3.8 1.1 -

All items less shelter

293.851 - 298.858 3.8 1.7 -

Commodities less food

195.085 - 193.419 0.0 -0.9 -

Nondurables

289.594 - 290.693 1.7 0.4 -

Nondurables less food

233.647 - 233.863 2.2 0.1 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

404.242 - 421.576 9.0 4.3 -

Services less medical care services

432.935 - 441.640 6.2 2.0 -

Energy

385.863 384.590 381.933 -2.9 -1.0 -0.7

All items less energy

346.390 - 351.140 4.6 1.4 -

All items less food and energy

343.992 - 349.023 5.2 1.5 -

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024