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News Release Information

19-2174-PHI
Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria – November 2019

Area prices down 0.2 percent since September, up 1.5 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria edged down 0.2 percent from September to November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent decrease was due almost entirely to a 0.2-percent drop in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index also decreased since September, down 0.6 percent, while the food index increased 0.4 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 1.5 percent, reflecting a 1.4-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index. (See chart 1 and table A.) Since November 2018, the food index and energy index also advanced, up 2.4 and 0.9 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

Following a 0.3-percent decline from July to September, the food index increased 0.4 percent over the last two months. Prices for food away from home increased 1.1 percent, while those for food at home inched down 0.1 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were lower for carbonated drinks, while prices were higher for frozen and freeze dried prepared foods, among others.

Food prices increased 2.4 percent over the year. Prices were higher for both food at home and food away from home; each increased 2.4 percent since November 2018.

Energy

Since September, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, declined 0.6 percent, due to lower prices for electricity (-4.0 percent). Prices were higher for utility (piped) gas service (6.1 percent) and gasoline (0.2 percent) over the past two months.

Energy prices increased 0.9 percent since November 2018, due to higher prices for utility (piped) gas service (14.9 percent) and electricity (3.4 percent). Over the year, gasoline prices declined 3.5 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent since September. The decline was led by lower prices for apparel (-3.3 percent), shelter (-0.1 percent), and education and communication (-0.4 percent) over the last two months. Increased prices for medical care (0.8 percent), among others, moderated the drop in the all items less food and energy index from September to November.

Since November 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent. Prices were higher for shelter (1.8 percent) and medical care (3.0 percent), among others. Apparel prices decreased 2.8 percent since November 2018.

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20152016201720182019
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

-1.1-0.2-0.21.50.21.50.92.20.50.8

March

1.20.20.81.10.41.1-0.11.80.71.6

May

0.70.60.81.20.00.30.72.50.61.6

July

-0.30.3-0.21.30.00.50.12.5-0.31.2

September

0.60.7-0.30.50.91.70.42.00.10.9

November

-0.40.50.21.10.01.5-0.71.3-0.21.5

The Consumer Price Index for January 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 13, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is published bi-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 94 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 percent of the total 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 5,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
Sep.
2019
Oct.
2019
Nov.
2019
Nov.
2018
Sep.
2019
Oct.
2019

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0
265.500 265.0261.5-0.2 

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF
252.494 253.4042.10.4 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF1
257.869 258.9862.40.4 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF11
245.972246.053245.6172.4-0.1-0.2

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF111
322.678 315.444-0.5-2.2 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF112
268.230 273.1066.91.8 

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFJ
242.622 238.6152.3-1.7 

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF113
272.254 265.7791.0-2.4 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF114
214.494 211.4663.6-1.4 

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF115
195.551 199.9140.42.2 

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFV
273.881 276.8982.41.1 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF116
200.435 199.279-1.4-0.6 

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH
279.485 278.3492.3-0.4 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH1
336.338335.266336.0011.8-0.10.2

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHA
368.766369.559370.7382.60.50.3

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC
341.865342.696343.7921.80.60.3

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC01
341.865342.696343.7921.80.60.3

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH2
240.200 237.4686.0-1.1 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH21
187.063186.916184.2836.1-1.5-1.4

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF
191.631191.491188.4866.1-1.6-1.6

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF01
222.309218.610213.4013.4-4.0-2.4

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF02
124.332130.739131.95614.96.10.9

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH3
109.225 106.8013.5-2.2 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAA
166.761 161.295-2.8-3.3 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT
215.337 215.692-0.50.2 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT1
212.642 214.5740.10.9 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA
92.906 92.831-1.2-0.1 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA01
191.948 192.149-2.30.1 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA02
296.799 294.5180.0-0.8 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB
234.972237.768235.383-3.60.2-1.0

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB01
232.292235.061232.743-3.50.2-1.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47014
226.066228.826226.563-3.70.2-1.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47015
236.649238.628235.965-3.1-0.3-1.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47016
252.671255.243252.876-2.00.1-0.9

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETE
859.819 893.2163.63.9 

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAM
459.966 463.6213.00.8 

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAR
116.345 116.9561.10.5 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAE
152.548 151.8911.2-0.4 

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEEB
1,408.443 1,409.2963.70.1 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAG
416.673 415.4820.9-0.3 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAC
180.187 179.3580.1-0.5 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL11
143.615 142.120-1.3-1.0 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL11
191.276 190.076-1.9-0.6 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAD
99.904 98.318-0.4-1.6 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAS
343.147 343.0632.30.0 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L2
237.022 236.4981.4-0.2 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L5
256.317 255.6401.4-0.3 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL1
146.257 144.767-1.3-1.0 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAN
220.974 220.7980.3-0.1 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL1
191.894 190.698-1.9-0.6 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL2RS
362.421 362.6622.90.1 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL5
331.383 331.0162.0-0.1 

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0E
211.896213.083210.5200.9-0.6-1.2

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0LE
273.009 272.6031.5-0.1 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L1E
277.016 276.3321.4-0.2 

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a November 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019