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News Release Information

22-1662-PHI
Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area – July 2022

Area prices were up 1.1 percent over the past 2 months, up 7.5 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria increased 1.1 percent for the 2 months ending in July 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this continued a moderating pace of increase after the recent peak of 1.9 percent in March. The most recent rise was largely due to increases in shelter and new and used motor vehicle prices. Energy prices had the smallest 2-month increase since February, 5.4 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U was up 7.5 percent, the same as in May. The rise was due mostly to a 5.6-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index, which moderated slightly after posting a 6.0 percent rise in March. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index was up 31.4 percent over the year due mainly to a 47.9-percent advance in gasoline prices. Food prices increased 8.9 percent, representing the highest 12-month increase since the series started in January 1999. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index advanced 1.9 percent over the last 2 months. Prices for food at home increased 1.9 percent, while those for food away from home increased 2.0 percent, the most in almost 2 years. Within the food at home component, most of the increase was due to the other food at home index, which set a series high since it started in 2018, up 4.9 percent, reflecting, among other increases, higher prices for spices, seasonings, condiments, sauces as well as snacks. The dairy and related products index was up 7.5 percent, while cereal and bakery products prices were 3.9 percent higher. Food index gains were tempered by the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index decreasing 2.2 percent – the first decline in over a year, due to lower priced chicken and uncooked ground beef – and fruits and vegetables prices fell 0.7 percent, as citrus fruit prices dropped.  

Over-the-year, food prices increased 8.9 percent and have consistently accelerated since July 2021. The food index rise reflects higher prices for both food at home (12.4 percent – a series record) and food away from home (4.8 percent). Other food at home, up 15.6 percent; meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, up 8.5 percent but the smallest increase in a year; and cereals and bakery products, up 15.4 percent, contributed to the general rise in grocery prices.

Energy

In July, the energy index increased 5.4 percent, a more moderate advance than those posted since March. The electricity index led the general rise, up 10.7 percent; that index has consistently increased in July over its 25-year history, although this was below the historic average, it was the largest since July 2015. Both the 8.8 percent increase in utility (piped) gas service and the 1.7 percent advance in gasoline were below the increases posted earlier in 2022.

Energy prices rose 31.4 percent since July 2021, continuing a trend of double-digit increases since March 2021. Higher gasoline prices (up 47.9 percent) accounted for over seventy percent of the 12-month increase in the energy index, although that was down from a series high of 61.3 percent. Over the year, electricity prices were up 11.0 percent, the largest increase since May 2009. Utility (piped) gas service prices advanced 22.0 percent and fuel oil prices were also up.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent since May due to increasing prices for shelter (0.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (2.4 percent), and medical care (1.4 percent). The increase in the shelter index was predominantly due to the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advancing 1.1 percent, the most since 2014. Partly offsetting the all items less food and energy index gains were lower apparel prices, down 2.1 percent; they have dropped every July in the 25-year history of the series, but the average of those declines is more than twice as much as this year’s.

Since July 2021, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.6 percent over the year, down from the 6.0 rate in March and 5.7 percent in May. Shelter prices grew by 4.4 percent, the largest 12-month rise since 2007, as the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index advanced 4.0 percent and household furnishings and operations prices were up 9.8 percent. New and used motor vehicles prices moderated to a 10.8-percent increase, down from a series high 25.9 percent in March. Prices for new vehicles increased by 8.8 percent over-the-year which was the lowest annual increase since July 2021. Used cars and trucks increased 7.1 percent, the smallest price increase of the last 2 years. Medical care prices advanced 8.8 percent since July 2021, the highest 12-month increase in over 14 years.

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20182019202020212022
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.92.20.50.80.51.60.71.50.96.0

March

-0.11.80.71.6-0.40.40.72.61.97.3

May

0.72.50.61.60.1-0.11.33.81.57.5

July

0.12.5-0.31.20.60.81.24.41.17.5

September

0.42.00.10.90.61.20.74.5

November

-0.71.3-0.21.50.01.41.25.8

The September 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on October 13, 2022.


Technical Note

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, 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 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 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, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
May
2022
Jun.
2022
Jul.
2022
Jul.
2021
May
2022
Jun.
2022

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0
296.559 299.9377.51.1 

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF
287.290 292.7438.71.9 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF1
295.510 301.2398.91.9 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF11
282.316284.086287.69212.41.91.3

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF111
369.378 383.91115.43.9 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF112
319.150 312.2738.5-2.2 

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFJ
268.838 288.91618.87.5 

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF113
291.366 289.2028.7-0.7 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF114
247.974 248.31810.30.1 

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF115
231.785 243.04515.64.9 

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFV
311.206 317.3904.82.0 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF116
211.139 213.8596.71.3 

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH
301.741 305.9975.71.4 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH1
357.027358.180359.9024.40.80.5

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHA
384.095385.497387.0262.70.80.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC
363.284365.713367.1824.01.10.4

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC01
363.284365.713367.1824.01.10.4

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH2
269.799 292.22611.28.3 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH21
215.560229.775236.75515.29.83.0

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF
218.483233.291240.58314.110.13.1

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF01
221.352233.657245.10511.010.74.9

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF02
199.079217.655216.65122.08.8-0.5

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH3
127.406 128.1829.80.6 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAA
154.652 151.4340.9-2.1 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT
272.233 274.89715.11.0 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT1
280.920 285.67315.91.7 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA
124.823 127.86610.82.4 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA01
222.495 226.8798.82.0 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA02
450.344 461.3747.12.4 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB
422.470462.805429.61748.21.7-7.2

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB01
416.926457.048424.17047.91.7-7.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47014
410.040449.707416.22648.51.5-7.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47015
412.523451.178425.96345.03.3-5.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47016
422.068461.007436.90443.43.5-5.2

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAM
534.705 542.3338.81.4 

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAR
122.920 123.0473.80.1 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAE
161.204 161.6632.50.3 

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEEB
1,504.959 1,513.5323.90.6 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAG
479.001 481.1415.80.4 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAC
212.586 215.00710.71.1 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL11
173.822 175.02611.90.7 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL11
231.433 231.15115.9-0.1 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAD
121.724 123.5588.31.5 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAS
370.708 374.9325.61.1 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L2
271.494 275.0559.11.3 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L5
285.290 288.4647.31.1 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL1
175.567 176.82011.70.7 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAN
258.671 261.17911.91.0 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL1
229.276 229.21915.20.0 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL2RS
398.868 404.9326.91.5 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL5
354.127 357.9715.11.1 

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0E
307.641332.890324.21031.45.4-2.6

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0LE
300.240 302.7876.10.8 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L1E
302.247 304.2835.60.7 

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, August 10, 2022