Prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that this was the largest bi-monthly change in the all items index since June 2008. The food index increased 2.8 percent, and the energy index rose 10.3 percent in March and April. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.5 percent over the past two months, mainly due to increasing prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 8.5 percent, the largest percent increase since December 1981. The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.9 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 25.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline, while food prices advanced 8.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.8 percent for the two months ending in April, the largest bi-monthly rise in the index since February 1990. The index for food at home (grocery store prices) advanced 3.5 percent. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 2.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 8.7 percent, the largest increase in the index since August 1981. Prices for food at home increased 9.8 percent since a year ago, mainly due to an increase in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home increased 7.5 percent over the same period.

Energy

The energy index rose 10.3 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to a jump in prices for gasoline (+21.6 percent), but natural gas service (+2.0 percent) also contributed. Partially offsetting the increase, the index for electricity decreased 4.3 percent over the same period.

From April 2021 to April 2022, energy prices jumped 25.3 percent, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+45.1 percent), but all energy components contributed to the rise. Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 23.7 percent, while prices for electricity inched up 0.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent in March and April. Higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.3 percent), recreation (+3.4 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+1.8 percent) were among the largest contributors to the rise. These increases were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.8 percent) and apparel (-2.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.9 percent, the largest 12-month rise since data for this series was published beginning in 1982. Components most contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (+13.1 percent), owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+4.2 percent), household furnishings and operations (+15.8 percent), and recreation (+12.4 percent).

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on July 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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

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,
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, April 2022 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
All items	250.563	-	256.668	8.5	2.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	803.646	-	823.227
Food and beverages	259.063	-	265.970	8.0	2.7	-
Food	260.328	-	267.654	8.7	2.8	-
Food at home	249.518	256.222	258.372	9.8	3.5	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	301.022	-	297.324	6.6	-1.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	285.908	-	296.508	17.8	3.7	-
Dairy and related products	190.817	-	205.870	3.6	7.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	303.128	-	312.896	3.9	3.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	303.770	-	315.191	12.7	3.8	-
Other food at home	215.947	-	225.435	9.4	4.4	-
Food away from home	266.680	-	272.205	7.5	2.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	230.034	-	230.648	-0.7	0.3	-
Housing	242.619	-	244.726	5.5	0.9	-
Shelter	282.714	285.111	286.094	4.3	1.2	0.3
Rent of primary residence	280.079	282.623	284.275	5.1	1.5	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	263.303	265.208	266.687	4.2	1.3	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	263.303	265.208	266.687	4.2	1.3	0.6
Fuels and utilities	208.668	-	204.275	3.8	-2.1	-
Household energy	183.555	176.640	177.931	4.4	-3.1	0.7
Energy services	180.083	172.967	174.248	3.8	-3.2	0.7
Electricity	178.178	169.721	170.519	0.3	-4.3	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service	171.889	171.891	175.368	23.7	2.0	2.0
Household furnishings and operations	158.674	-	161.497	15.8	1.8	-
Apparel	182.792	-	178.859	6.6	-2.2	-
Transportation	219.206	-	236.608	22.1	7.9	-
Private transportation	223.324	-	235.566	21.4	5.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	107.642	-	107.032	13.1	-0.6	-
New vehicles(1)	186.593	-	188.091	9.2	0.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	344.913	-	338.558	23.1	-1.8	-
Motor fuel	275.986	340.652	336.999	45.7	22.1	-1.1
Gasoline (all types)	276.110	340.659	335.869	45.1	21.6	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	279.856	346.233	340.990	45.7	21.8	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	296.408	361.920	359.772	42.3	21.4	-0.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	297.238	358.611	356.515	40.7	19.9	-0.6
Medical care	539.737	-	543.443	1.0	0.7	-
Recreation(3)	123.037	-	127.266	12.4	3.4	-
Education and communication(3)	123.450	-	123.816	1.4	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,297.226	-	1,287.734	1.5	-0.7	-
Other goods and services	440.348	-	440.354	3.9	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	198.109	-	205.111	13.1	3.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	167.905	-	174.698	16.0	4.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	215.831	-	232.789	18.7	7.9	-
Durables	119.803	-	120.059	12.8	0.2	-
Services	304.361	-	309.687	5.7	1.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	238.726	-	245.935	10.5	3.0	-
All items less medical care	236.570	-	242.694	9.2	2.6	-
Commodities less food	170.198	-	176.870	15.3	3.9	-
Nondurables	237.553	-	249.556	12.8	5.1	-
Nondurables less food	216.246	-	232.187	17.2	7.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	325.078	-	332.627	7.1	2.3	-
Services less medical care services	279.902	-	285.114	6.2	1.9	-
Energy	224.571	248.567	247.728	25.3	10.3	-0.3
All items less energy	256.818	-	261.263	7.1	1.7	-
All items less food and energy	256.089	-	260.045	6.9	1.5	-
(1) Indexes on an April 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) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.