Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.1 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 education and communication. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 1.2 percent. Energy prices advanced 0.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Alaska, February 2021–February 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Feb 2021	1.3	1.3
Apr 2021	4.8	3.7
Jun 2021	6.2	6.0
Aug 2021	5.7	4.5
Oct 2021	6.3	4.9
Dec 2021	7.2	5.7
Feb 2022	7.4	5.9
Apr 2022	7.5	5.2
Jun 2022	12.4	6.3
Aug 2022	7.6	6.7
Oct 2022	7.6	6.6
Dec 2022	5.4	5.6
Feb 2023	4.3	5.0
Apr 2023	3.1	5.4
Jun 2023	-3.3	1.8
Aug 2023	2.0	2.7
Oct 2023	1.1	2.2
Dec 2023	1.8	2.5
Feb 2024	1.7	2.0

Food prices advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.1 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (2.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.2 percent. Prices for food at home fell 0.1 percent since a year ago, led by lower prices for dairy and related products (-6.5 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 3.7 percent.

The energy index declined 1.6 percent for the two months ending in February. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-6.4 percent). Prices for electricity increased 8.0 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 0.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (14.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 2.7 percent, while prices for gasoline fell 5.7 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for education and communication (3.8 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-2.0 percent) and recreation (-2.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (20.7 percent) and shelter (2.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-5.9 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-3.5 percent).

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

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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

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

Urban Alaska (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		261.178	-	261.340	1.7	0.1	-
All items (1967=100)		697.121	-	697.552	-	-	-
Food and beverages		256.413	-	257.154	1.3	0.3	-
Food		265.859	-	266.559	1.2	0.3	-
Food at home		255.937	256.547	256.259	-0.1	0.1	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products		258.136	263.329	264.376	0.0	2.4	0.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		232.112	228.995	231.786	-2.4	-0.1	1.2
Dairy and related products		246.321	248.745	238.351	-6.5	-3.2	-4.2
Fruits and vegetables		394.712	401.389	398.211	3.6	0.9	-0.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		184.222	182.274	184.994	2.1	0.4	1.5
Other food at home		217.766	216.831	216.355	-0.8	-0.6	-0.2
Food away from home		282.368	-	284.020	3.7	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages		166.192	-	-	-	-	-
Housing		233.250	-	235.515	2.3	1.0	-
Shelter		238.546	239.159	239.657	2.6	0.5	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)		237.123	236.947	237.756	5.9	0.3	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		239.543	239.910	240.507	2.4	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		239.543	239.910	240.507	2.4	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities		363.824	-	377.461	6.6	3.7	-
Household energy		369.665	385.393	385.253	8.3	4.2	0.0
Energy services		412.285	431.140	431.140	9.5	4.6	0.0
Electricity		351.017	379.043	379.043	14.9	8.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		491.615	491.615	491.615	2.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		137.547	-	140.677	-3.5	2.3	-
Apparel		157.081	-	158.833	1.3	1.1	-
Transportation		281.366	-	273.465	-0.6	-2.8	-
Private transportation		287.043	-	280.655	-1.6	-2.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		127.510	-	124.902	-5.9	-2.0	-
New vehicles(1)		270.450	-	269.639	-3.9	-0.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		350.837	-	336.308	-2.3	-4.1	-
Motor fuel		317.210	299.825	295.626	-6.2	-6.8	-1.4
Gasoline (all types)		316.900	300.614	296.576	-5.7	-6.4	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		304.483	288.462	284.641	-6.0	-6.5	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		307.834	291.962	287.731	-5.4	-6.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		326.951	311.622	307.246	-4.9	-6.0	-1.4
Medical care		739.263	-	746.732	-	1.0	-
Recreation(3)		141.415	-	138.524	-1.4	-2.0	-
Education and communication(3)		108.956	-	113.098	0.8	3.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		789.709	-	791.855	2.2	0.3	-
Other goods and services		497.493	-	497.706	20.7	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
All items		261.178	-	261.340	1.7	0.1	-
Commodities		210.968	-	208.692	-1.0	-1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		187.649	-	184.054	-2.7	-1.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		243.035	-	237.327	-1.2	-2.3	-
Durables		141.552	-	139.267	-4.6	-1.6	-
Services		305.073	-	307.783	3.9	0.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		244.784	-	244.760	1.5	0.0	-
All items less shelter		270.298	-	269.955	1.3	-0.1	-
Commodities less food		187.134	-	183.702	-2.4	-1.8	-
Nondurables		250.348	-	248.420	0.3	-0.8	-
Nondurables less food		237.174	-	232.131	-0.8	-2.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		414.497	-	420.255	5.3	1.4	-
Services less medical care services		279.050	-	281.373	3.7	0.8	-
Energy		341.636	338.628	336.181	0.6	-1.6	-0.7
All items less energy		256.835	-	257.323	1.8	0.2	-
All items less food and energy		256.148	-	256.599	2.0	0.2	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.