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News Release Information

23-510-SAN
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, West Region — February 2023

Area prices were up 0.5 percent over the past month, up 6.0 percent from a year ago

Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The February increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 advanced 6.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 9.2 percent over the year, and energy prices rose 6.9 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.6 percent, with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 9.2 percent. Prices for food at home rose 9.5 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 5.5 percent for fruits and vegetables to 14.5 percent for cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home advanced 8.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 0.5 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for natural gas service (-21.1 percent). Prices for gasoline increased 5.1 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices rose 6.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (9.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 26.1 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 1.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent in February. Higher prices for apparel (2.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.5 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.3 percent) and medical care (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.9 percent), recreation (5.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (4.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-13.0 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

0.2 2.7 0.3 2.9 0.2 1.4 0.9 7.7 0.9 6.3

February

0.2 2.4 0.4 3.1 0.5 1.6 0.8 8.1 0.5 6.0

March

0.4 2.4 -0.2 2.5 0.7 2.4 1.3 8.7

April

0.8 2.9 -0.4 1.3 1.0 3.9 0.7 8.3

May

0.5 2.9 0.1 0.8 0.8 4.7 0.8 8.3

June

0.0 2.7 0.4 1.2 0.9 5.1 1.2 8.8

July

0.0 2.7 0.5 1.7 0.6 5.2 0.1 8.3

August

0.1 2.6 0.3 1.9 0.2 5.0 0.0 8.1

September

0.3 2.6 0.0 1.6 0.2 5.3 0.3 8.3

October

0.5 2.8 0.2 1.2 0.8 6.0 0.7 8.1

November

-0.1 2.8 0.0 1.4 0.5 6.5 -0.4 7.1

December

-0.2 2.8 -0.1 1.5 0.4 7.1 -0.4 6.2

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the West Region 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 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 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
Historical
data
Dec.
2022
Jan.
2023
Feb.
2023
Feb.
2022
Dec.
2022
Jan.
2023

Expenditure category

All Items

314.599 317.477 319.130 6.0 1.4 0.5

All items (December 1977=100)

508.532 513.185 515.856 - - -

Food and beverages

326.660 329.284 331.238 8.9 1.4 0.6

Food

328.729 331.457 333.661 9.2 1.5 0.7

Food at home

312.237 314.531 316.268 9.5 1.3 0.6

Cereals and bakery products

323.610 326.905 331.262 14.5 2.4 1.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

340.506 341.966 341.195 6.8 0.2 -0.2

Dairy and related products

287.438 288.707 290.008 11.7 0.9 0.5

Fruits and vegetables

392.165 394.782 396.585 5.5 1.1 0.5

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

218.715 222.159 223.518 10.0 2.2 0.6

Other food at home

266.944 268.668 270.958 11.3 1.5 0.9

Food away from home

348.953 352.467 355.544 8.9 1.9 0.9

Alcoholic beverages

294.554 295.732 294.269 3.2 -0.1 -0.5

Housing

348.889 353.857 355.153 7.9 1.8 0.4

Shelter

400.578 403.199 406.180 7.9 1.4 0.7

Rent of primary residence(1)

425.210 428.560 431.790 8.3 1.5 0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)

422.340 424.802 427.127 7.9 1.1 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

422.125 424.580 426.893 7.9 1.1 0.5

Fuels and utilities

382.539 417.117 399.576 10.9 4.5 -4.2

Household energy

334.910 375.743 351.683 13.6 5.0 -6.4

Energy services(1)

336.667 378.297 353.797 13.8 5.1 -6.5

Electricity(1)

360.045 374.564 374.628 9.8 4.1 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

302.498 414.711 327.209 26.1 8.2 -21.1

Household furnishings and operations

154.793 156.463 158.779 4.7 2.6 1.5

Apparel

121.768 123.886 127.478 2.9 4.7 2.9

Transportation

265.654 265.223 268.311 2.4 1.0 1.2

Private transportation

263.918 263.372 265.621 1.5 0.6 0.9

New and used motor vehicles(3)

124.105 124.288 123.902 -2.4 -0.2 -0.3

New vehicles

175.047 175.967 176.331 4.0 0.7 0.2

New cars and trucks(3)(4)

- - - - - -

New cars(4)

174.674 175.380 176.063 5.4 0.8 0.4

Used cars and trucks

181.812 178.847 176.567 -13.0 -2.9 -1.3

Motor fuel

335.719 328.019 344.103 2.0 2.5 4.9

Gasoline (all types)

331.920 324.521 341.017 1.5 2.7 5.1

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

327.980 320.754 337.356 1.4 2.9 5.2

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

318.128 310.165 325.409 1.6 2.3 4.9

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

326.587 319.036 334.111 2.0 2.3 4.7

Medical Care

574.202 576.065 570.411 1.6 -0.7 -1.0

Medical care commodities

439.511 444.290 445.564 2.7 1.4 0.3

Medical care services

615.829 616.839 609.124 1.4 -1.1 -1.3

Professional services

398.645 399.932 396.720 2.6 -0.5 -0.8

Recreation(3)

126.288 127.880 129.436 5.9 2.5 1.2

Education and communication(3)

143.636 143.907 143.669 1.3 0.0 -0.2

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)

1,628.954 1,630.213 1,631.640 4.4 0.2 0.1

Other goods and services

508.085 512.705 515.768 5.1 1.5 0.6

Commodity and Service Group

All Items

314.599 317.477 319.130 6.0 1.4 0.5

Commodities

222.785 223.799 225.645 3.6 1.3 0.8

Commodities less food & beverages

172.915 173.354 175.017 0.4 1.2 1.0

Nondurables less food & beverages

224.583 225.097 230.487 3.9 2.6 2.4

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel

296.657 296.049 302.702 4.1 2.0 2.2

Durables

125.704 126.051 125.666 -2.8 0.0 -0.3

Services

399.007 403.783 405.137 7.4 1.5 0.3

Rent of shelter(2)

427.005 429.822 433.033 8.0 1.4 0.7

Transportation services

360.625 364.790 369.034 12.0 2.3 1.2

Other services

394.157 397.187 399.384 5.3 1.3 0.6

Special aggregate indexes:

All items less medical care

302.639 305.550 307.503 6.3 1.6 0.6

All items less food

312.533 315.432 317.006 5.4 1.4 0.5

All items less shelter

280.773 283.773 284.886 4.9 1.5 0.4

Commodities less food

177.495 177.954 179.572 0.5 1.2 0.9

Nondurables

275.595 277.099 280.973 6.7 2.0 1.4

Nondurables less food

229.931 230.485 235.533 3.8 2.4 2.2

Nondurables less food and apparel

295.979 295.533 301.446 4.0 1.8 2.0

Services less rent of shelter(2)

407.984 416.078 414.997 6.6 1.7 -0.3

Services less medical care services

383.799 388.825 390.792 8.1 1.8 0.5

Energy

341.756 355.921 354.104 6.9 3.6 -0.5

All items less energy

315.402 317.614 319.491 5.9 1.3 0.6

All items less food and energy

314.001 316.137 317.968 5.3 1.3 0.6

Commodities less food and energy commodities

160.237 161.291 161.770 0.2 1.0 0.3

Energy commodities

342.515 335.030 351.001 2.1 2.5 4.8

Services less energy services

404.182 406.965 409.738 7.1 1.4 0.7

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023