Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton — January 2023

Area prices up 1.1 percent for the two months ending in January and 6.4 percent over the year

Prices in the Boston area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.1 percent for the two months ending in January 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that higher prices for shelter led the bi-monthly increase. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 6.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.6 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 22.8 percent, largely the result of higher prices for electricity. Food prices advanced 10.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, January 2020–January 2023

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, January 2020–January 2023
Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2020	2.2	2.4
Mar 2020	1.8	2.3
May 2020	0.6	1.1
Jul 2020	0.8	0.8
Sep 2020	0.6	0.5
Nov 2020	0.4	0.4
Jan 2021	0.5	0.2
Mar 2021	1.3	0.4
May 2021	3.2	2.3
Jul 2021	4.3	3.3
Sep 2021	4.0	2.7
Nov 2021	5.3	3.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.7
Mar 2022	7.3	5.2
May 2022	7.5	4.9
Jul 2022	7.0	3.9
Sep 2022	8.1	5.9
Nov 2022	7.0	4.7
Jan 2023	6.4	4.6

Food

Food prices increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in January. Prices for food at home rose 1.7 percent, with increases in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent.

Over the year, food prices increased 10.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 12.7 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 6.7 percent.

Energy

For the two months ending in January, the energy index declined 2.3 percent, driven by an 11.1-percent drop in gasoline prices which was partially offset by a 2.4-percent rise in household energy prices. Within household energy, electricity charges rose 9.0 percent, while prices declined for natural gas (-2.8 percent) and fuel oil.

Energy prices increased 22.8 percent over the year, led by a 36.5-percent advance in household energy. Higher prices for electricity (46.7 percent), natural gas (24.8 percent), and fuel oil contributed to the rise. Gasoline prices rose 1.1 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent for the two months ending in January. Higher prices for shelter (1.9 percent) which included a 1.9-percent increase in residential rent, a 1.5-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent, and an increase in out-of-town lodging prices contributed to the advance. Apparel prices rose 9.8 percent, and medical care prices increased 1.8 percent. Lower prices for education and communication (-1.3 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-0.8 percent) partially offset the increases.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.1 percent)—with increases reported for residential rent (7.3 percent) and owners’ equivalent rent (6.3 percent)—and medical care (6.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines for new and used motor vehicles (-0.9 percent).

Table A. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
Month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.5	0.6	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	6.3	1.1	6.4
March	0.5	2.1	0.1	1.8	0.9	1.3	1.9	7.3
May	0.2	2.3	-1.0	0.6	0.8	3.2	1.1	7.5
July	0.0	2.0	0.2	0.8	1.2	4.3	0.7	7.0
September	0.2	1.1	0.1	0.6	-0.1	4.0	0.9	8.1
November	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.4	1.7	5.3	0.6	7.0

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Boston area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.

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 BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts and Rockingham and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group	Indexes		Percent change from-
Item and Group	Nov. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022

Expenditure category

All items	320.702	324.270	6.4	1.1
All items (1967=100)	932.131	942.500

Food and beverages	327.199	331.649	10.3	1.4
Food	331.681	336.134	10.5	1.3
Food at home	304.160	309.387	12.7	1.7
Cereals and bakery products	362.790	369.206	10.1	1.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	321.225	329.205	12.9	2.5
Dairy and related products	360.101	357.058	16.1	-0.8
Fruits and vegetables	369.468	393.027	12.8	6.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	191.978	189.262	10.8	-1.4
Other food at home	241.651	241.947	13.6	0.1
Food away from home	378.348	380.460	6.7	0.6
Alcoholic beverages	281.651	286.196	6.7	1.6

Housing	340.112	346.741	8.4	1.9
Shelter	385.860	393.149	5.1	1.9
Rent of primary residence	403.537	411.385	7.3	1.9
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	418.458	424.862	6.3	1.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	418.458	424.862	6.3	1.5
Fuels and utilities	474.909	485.374	35.3	2.2
Household energy	407.854	417.724	36.5	2.4
Energy services	431.045	454.111	39.6	5.4
Electricity	483.497	527.016	46.7	9.0
Utility (piped) gas service	323.104	314.095	24.8	-2.8
Household furnishings and operations	151.101	154.629	8.7	2.3

Apparel	127.485	139.978	5.4	9.8

Transportation	232.265	227.126	2.1	-2.2
Private transportation	240.468	235.495	0.8	-2.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	135.159	134.121	-0.9	-0.8
New vehicles(1)	240.974	240.560	2.9	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)	451.981	431.498	-11.9	-4.5
Motor fuel	334.948	297.589	1.3	-11.2
Gasoline (all types)	330.841	294.043	1.1	-11.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	319.432	282.519	0.0	-11.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	365.320	331.051	6.4	-9.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	358.172	328.792	9.1	-8.2

Medical care	744.951	758.152	6.1	1.8

Recreation(3)	119.791	121.693	3.8	1.6

Education and communication(3)	177.757	175.524	-0.4	-1.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,464.680	1,464.754	2.2	0.0

Other goods and services	597.538	592.043	6.5	-0.9

Commodity and service group

All items	320.702	324.270	6.4	1.1
Commodities	228.010	227.800	5.1	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	178.134	176.267	2.1	-1.0
Nondurables less food and beverages	232.991	230.014	7.0	-1.3
Durables	127.918	126.559	-2.5	-1.1
Services	404.383	411.350	7.1	1.7

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care	304.457	307.654	6.5	1.1
All items less shelter	298.036	300.046	7.2	0.7
Commodities less food	182.359	180.651	2.3	-0.9
Nondurables	278.820	279.282	8.8	0.2
Nondurables less food	235.541	233.026	7.0	-1.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)	445.484	452.262	9.6	1.5
Services less medical care services	379.973	386.580	7.3	1.7
Energy	375.200	366.659	22.8	-2.3
All items less energy	322.078	326.606	5.3	1.4
All items less food and energy	322.039	326.572	4.6	1.4
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a January 1978=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: Tuesday, February 14, 2023

New England Information Office

Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton — January 2023