Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) A decrease in motor vehicle insurance helped offset higher prices for apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent over the year. Food prices rose 5.0 percent. Energy prices declined 6.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent, but prices for food away from home advanced 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 5.0 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 5.1 percent, and prices for food at home increased 4.9 percent since a year ago. All food group prices increased with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs making the largest impact.

Energy

The energy index inched up 0.2 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (0.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 1.8 percent, but prices for electricity decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 6.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-13.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 8.4 percent, and prices for electricity rose 2.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in September. Higher prices for apparel (2.5 percent) and used cars and trucks (2.0 percent) were countered by lower prices for motor vehicle insurance (-4.3 percent) and recreation (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.9 percent) and shelter (2.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in motor vehicle insurance (-8.1 percent) and apparel (-4.9 percent).

Table A. West 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	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9
February	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1
March	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5
April	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8
June	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2
July	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6	0.3	1.9
September	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6	0.0	1.6
October	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8
November	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8
December	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8

The October 2020 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on 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/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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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

West (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	275.597	276.443	276.422	1.6	0.3	0.0
All items (December 1977=100)	445.488	446.855	446.821
Food and beverages	278.110	279.790	279.730	4.8	0.6	0.0
Food	278.597	280.333	280.332	5.0	0.6	0.0
Food at home	261.964	263.762	262.926	4.9	0.4	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products	267.275	268.954	270.310	0.8	1.1	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	280.540	279.385	278.513	7.4	-0.7	-0.3
Dairy and related products	243.167	247.264	248.005	7.3	2.0	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	345.610	350.341	348.551	4.7	0.9	-0.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	184.062	187.429	185.622	7.9	0.8	-1.0
Other food at home	220.641	221.197	220.032	3.0	-0.3	-0.5
Food away from home	300.104	301.748	302.893	5.1	0.9	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	268.402	269.351	268.566	1.7	0.1	-0.3
Housing	308.454	308.782	308.769	2.3	0.1	0.0
Shelter	356.272	356.336	356.135	2.0	0.0	-0.1
Rent of primary residence(1)	379.785	379.915	380.372	2.8	0.2	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	373.920	374.293	374.761	2.4	0.2	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	373.926	374.292	374.752	2.4	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	317.905	318.565	318.589	3.2	0.2	0.0
Household energy	268.110	268.310	268.275	3.3	0.1	0.0
Energy services(1)	270.792	270.918	270.855	3.3	0.0	0.0
Electricity(1)	303.123	302.959	301.408	2.0	-0.6	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	210.489	211.367	215.112	8.4	2.2	1.8
Household furnishings and operations	137.821	138.799	139.340	4.0	1.1	0.4
Apparel	109.244	111.588	114.364	-4.9	4.7	2.5
Transportation	209.147	210.669	210.598	-4.0	0.7	0.0
Private transportation	206.739	208.959	208.569	-3.0	0.9	-0.2
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.337	102.058	102.215	2.5	1.9	0.2
New vehicles	149.904	149.765	149.776	1.5	-0.1	0.0
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	104.112	104.015	104.021	1.5	-0.1	0.0
New cars(4)	148.599	148.458	148.391	1.7	-0.1	0.0
Used cars and trucks	135.518	143.303	146.170	9.6	7.9	2.0
Motor fuel	225.536	229.485	230.476	-13.9	2.2	0.4
Gasoline (all types)	224.837	228.850	229.834	-13.9	2.2	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	221.156	225.212	226.172	-14.2	2.3	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	218.152	222.275	222.975	-12.7	2.2	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	225.608	229.037	230.049	-12.2	2.0	0.4
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	832.394	813.922	778.628	-8.1	-6.5	-4.3
Medical Care	544.125	544.247	543.151	5.9	-0.2	-0.2
Medical care commodities	428.925	428.583	426.720	9.8	-0.5	-0.4
Medical care services	579.688	579.956	579.105	4.9	-0.1	-0.1
Professional services	369.491	366.673	366.869	2.3	-0.7	0.1
Recreation(3)	115.497	115.718	115.061	0.2	-0.4	-0.6
Education and communication(3)	140.134	140.519	140.343	1.6	0.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,503.445	1,510.816	1,511.401	1.3	0.5	0.0
Other goods and services	461.650	458.151	457.191	1.7	-1.0	-0.2
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	275.597	276.443	276.422	1.6	0.3	0.0
Commodities	188.740	190.608	191.281	1.6	1.3	0.4
Commodities less food & beverages	145.715	147.562	148.480	-0.5	1.9	0.6
Nondurables less food & beverages	186.745	188.437	189.214	-4.0	1.3	0.4
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	241.203	242.467	241.891	-3.7	0.3	-0.2
Durables	107.242	109.011	109.930	3.3	2.5	0.8
Services	356.613	356.307	355.533	1.6	-0.3	-0.2
Rent of shelter(2)	379.458	379.536	379.313	2.0	0.0	-0.1
Transportation services	306.127	300.958	296.416	-7.7	-3.2	-1.5
Other services	366.379	366.382	365.053	1.8	-0.4	-0.4
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	263.401	264.274	264.298	1.2	0.3	0.0
All items less food	275.250	275.950	275.926	1.0	0.2	0.0
All items less shelter	243.949	245.099	245.148	1.4	0.5	0.0
Commodities less food	150.168	152.004	152.881	-0.4	1.8	0.6
Nondurables	232.347	234.043	234.416	0.9	0.9	0.2
Nondurables less food	192.758	194.407	195.084	-3.5	1.2	0.3
Nondurables less food and apparel	243.754	244.984	244.386	-3.0	0.3	-0.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)	367.480	366.653	365.092	1.0	-0.6	-0.4
Services less medical care services	341.080	340.737	339.969	1.2	-0.3	-0.2
Energy	247.429	249.846	250.416	-6.8	1.2	0.2
All items less energy	279.831	280.578	280.516	2.1	0.2	0.0
All items less food and energy	280.839	281.410	281.338	1.6	0.2	0.0
Commodities less food and energy commodities	141.518	143.128	143.988	2.1	1.7	0.6
Energy commodities	229.858	233.876	234.889	-13.7	2.2	0.4
Services less energy services	362.948	362.617	361.799	1.5	-0.3	-0.2
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (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) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.