The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.2 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all item less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent from August to September, while the energy index increased 1.4 percent. The food index was unchanged over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South rose 1.3 percent for the 12 months ending September 2020. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the past year, while the food index advanced 3.7 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 7.7 percent over the past 12 months. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged in September. The food at home index declined 0.4 percent over the month, while the food away from home index rose 0.5 percent.    

The food index advanced 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending in September, reflecting increases in the food at home (4.3 percent) and food away from home (3.0 percent) indexes.  

Energy

The energy index rose 1.4 percent in September, reflecting increases in the gasoline (1.8 percent), electricity (0.8 percent), and the utility (piped) gas service (3.6 percent) indexes.

The energy index declined 7.7 percent for the 12 months ending in September, led by a 15.0-percent drop in the gasoline index. The electricity index also declined over the past year, down 0.9 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index rose 3.8 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in September. Several indexes increased over the month, most notably used cars and trucks, and apparel, up 2.0 percent each. In contrast, motor vehicle insurance declined 3.1 percent in September.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The shelter index increased 2.2 percent over the 12-month span, and the medical care index rose 3.5 percent—reflecting a 4.5 percent increase in the medical care services index. Over the past year, the used cars and trucks index advanced 10.3 percent. Apparel was among the indexes to decline over the year, down 6.3 percent.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. Over the month, the all items CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in the West South Central division and 0.2 percent in the South Atlantic division. The all items index in the East South Central division was unchanged in September.  

The all items index advanced 1.8 percent in the South Atlantic division for the 12 months ending in September. Over the past year, the all items index rose 1.2 percent in the East South Central division and 0.6 percent in the West South Central division.

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.2	0.3	2.3
February	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.1	0.2	1.9
March	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3	0.7	1.6	-0.1	1.1
April	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4	0.5	1.8	-0.8	-0.2
May	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7	-0.1	1.4	-0.2	-0.4
June	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7	-0.1	1.1	0.6	0.3
July	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9	0.3	1.4	0.6	0.6
August	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4	-0.1	1.4	0.4	1.1
September	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7	0.0	1.3	0.2	1.3
October	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0	0.2	2.1	0.2	1.3
November	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1	-0.3	1.9	0.0	1.6
December	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8	-0.5	1.5	0.0	2.1

The Consumer Price Index for October 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and 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
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Sep. 2019	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020
Expenditure category
All Items	248.619	249.639	250.193	1.3	0.6	0.2
All items (December 1977=100)	403.295	404.949	405.847	-	-	-
Food and beverages	264.373	264.458	264.368	3.6	0.0	0.0
Food	266.084	266.136	266.052	3.7	0.0	0.0
Food at home	250.534	250.281	249.182	4.3	-0.5	-0.4
Cereal and bakery products	292.139	291.189	290.255	3.1	-0.6	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	265.055	260.434	258.581	6.4	-2.4	-0.7
Dairy and related products	226.335	231.615	231.513	3.9	2.3	0.0
Fruits and vegetables	288.508	287.130	287.116	1.8	-0.5	0.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	177.456	178.385	177.118	4.9	-0.2	-0.7
Other food at home	219.653	220.955	219.764	4.6	0.1	-0.5
Food away from home	292.021	292.515	293.894	3.0	0.6	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	240.369	240.886	240.727	1.2	0.1	-0.1
Housing	249.635	250.273	250.701	2.0	0.4	0.2
Shelter	289.271	290.072	290.417	2.2	0.4	0.1
Rent of primary residence	305.309	305.966	306.246	2.9	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	292.061	292.725	293.143	2.5	0.4	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	292.066	292.729	293.141	2.5	0.4	0.1
Fuels and utilities	240.888	240.691	242.841	0.5	0.8	0.9
Household energy	192.190	191.407	193.607	-0.4	0.7	1.1
Energy services	192.625	191.812	194.100	-0.3	0.8	1.2
Electricity	191.208	190.939	192.547	-0.9	0.7	0.8
Utility (piped) gas service	186.156	181.795	188.411	3.8	1.2	3.6
Household furnishings and operations	126.993	127.567	127.310	2.1	0.2	-0.2
Apparel	122.242	123.292	125.739	-6.3	2.9	2.0
Transportation	199.550	201.553	202.301	-2.7	1.4	0.4
Private transportation	200.137	202.515	203.361	-1.7	1.6	0.4
New and used motor vehicles(2)	102.133	104.424	105.359	4.0	3.2	0.9
New vehicles	152.806	152.499	152.647	0.0	-0.1	0.1
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	104.036	103.824	103.927	0.0	-0.1	0.1
New cars(3)	152.137	151.954	152.146	-0.2	0.0	0.1
Used cars and trucks	142.878	151.267	154.324	10.3	8.0	2.0
Motor fuel	178.531	177.321	180.363	-15.0	1.0	1.7
Gasoline (all types)	177.501	176.306	179.410	-15.0	1.1	1.8
Unleaded regular(3)	171.837	170.595	173.733	-15.4	1.1	1.8
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	204.942	204.100	207.647	-12.2	1.3	1.7
Unleaded premium(3)	206.574	205.964	208.219	-11.6	0.8	1.1
Motor vehicle insurance(5)	924.471	929.647	901.172	-5.3	-2.5	-3.1
Medical care	491.186	492.367	492.009	3.5	0.2	-0.1
Medical care commodities	351.776	350.592	350.093	-1.1	-0.5	-0.1
Medical care services	538.389	540.367	540.055	4.5	0.3	-0.1
Professional services	374.077	374.339	374.947	2.2	0.2	0.2
Recreation(2)	120.971	121.889	122.694	1.6	1.4	0.7
Education and communication(2)	134.999	135.936	135.932	2.3	0.7	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,363.901	1,371.846	1,372.016	1.7	0.6	0.0
Other goods and services	442.820	443.482	445.382	3.2	0.6	0.4
Commodity and service group
All Items	248.619	249.639	250.193	1.3	0.6	0.2
Commodities	182.854	183.915	184.581	0.4	0.9	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages	145.904	147.270	148.177	-1.5	1.6	0.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	184.897	185.024	186.660	-5.4	1.0	0.9
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	223.410	223.040	224.279	-5.1	0.4	0.6
Durables	107.789	109.716	110.107	2.7	2.2	0.4
Services	315.038	315.995	316.419	1.9	0.4	0.1
Rent of shelter(1)	297.272	298.111	298.468	2.3	0.4	0.1
Transportation services	347.221	347.612	343.429	-4.7	-1.1	-1.2
Other services	352.837	354.860	356.738	3.0	1.1	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	235.457	236.464	237.060	1.1	0.7	0.3
All items less food	245.686	246.852	247.502	1.0	0.7	0.3
All items less shelter	233.855	234.962	235.597	0.9	0.7	0.3
Commodities less food	148.689	150.039	150.923	-1.4	1.5	0.6
Nondurables	222.551	222.658	223.468	-0.6	0.4	0.4
Nondurables less food	187.833	187.983	189.510	-4.9	0.9	0.8
Nondurables less food and apparel	223.811	223.523	224.629	-4.6	0.4	0.5
Services less rent of shelter(1)	347.300	348.434	348.956	1.5	0.5	0.1
Services less medical care services	295.117	295.987	296.465	1.6	0.5	0.2
Energy	181.487	180.522	183.065	-7.7	0.9	1.4
All items less energy	256.779	258.003	258.361	2.1	0.6	0.1
All items less food and energy	255.588	257.015	257.450	1.8	0.7	0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities	145.197	146.846	147.487	1.0	1.6	0.4
Energy commodities	182.064	180.870	183.862	-14.8	1.0	1.7
Services less energy services	328.000	329.140	329.373	2.1	0.4	0.1
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.