Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The August increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and 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 3.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 4.3 percent. Energy prices increased 1.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, West region, August 2020–August 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2020	1.9	1.9
Sep 2020	1.6	1.6
Oct 2020	1.2	1.6
Nov 2020	1.4	1.8
Dec 2020	1.5	1.5
Jan 2021	1.4	1.3
Feb 2021	1.6	1.2
Mar 2021	2.4	1.5
Apr 2021	3.9	2.7
May 2021	4.7	3.3
Jun 2021	5.1	4.1
Jul 2021	5.2	3.9
Aug 2021	5.0	3.8
Sep 2021	5.3	4.0
Oct 2021	6.0	4.5
Nov 2021	6.5	4.8
Dec 2021	7.1	5.5
Jan 2022	7.7	6.2
Feb 2022	8.1	6.7
Mar 2022	8.7	6.8
Apr 2022	8.3	6.4
May 2022	8.3	6.2
Jun 2022	8.8	6.2
Jul 2022	8.3	6.3
Aug 2022	8.1	6.7
Sep 2022	8.3	6.8
Oct 2022	8.1	6.4
Nov 2022	7.1	6.0
Dec 2022	6.2	5.7
Jan 2023	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.0	5.3
Mar 2023	5.1	5.5
Apr 2023	4.9	5.4
May 2023	4.5	5.3
Jun 2023	3.5	4.7
Jul 2023	3.5	4.3
Aug 2023	3.9	4.1

Food prices increased 0.4 percent for the month of August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent, influenced by higher prices for dairy and related products (1.1 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (1.0 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.3 percent. Prices for food at home rose 2.9 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in all six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 6.7 percent.

The energy index advanced 2.9 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.7 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 1.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (10.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 7.0 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 3.8 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in August. Higher prices for other goods and services (2.3 percent), medical care (0.8 percent), and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.1 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (6.3 percent) and recreation (5.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-6.5 percent).

The September 2023 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on October 12, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for Atlanta is published bi-monthly. 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, 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	Jun. 2023	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023	Aug. 2022	Jun. 2023	Jul. 2023
Expenditure category
All Items		324.448	324.865	326.234	3.9	0.6	0.4
All items (December 1977=100)		524.452	525.126	527.340	-	-	-
Food and beverages		333.399	333.882	335.089	4.2	0.5	0.4
Food		335.671	336.273	337.512	4.3	0.5	0.4
Food at home		316.652	317.450	318.756	2.9	0.7	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		335.657	333.771	335.896	6.3	0.1	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		336.487	340.804	344.174	1.8	2.3	1.0
Dairy and related products		283.021	281.520	284.593	0.1	0.6	1.1
Fruits and vegetables		398.145	398.876	396.348	1.5	-0.5	-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		224.651	223.402	225.210	3.9	0.2	0.8
Other food at home		274.316	275.730	276.216	3.8	0.7	0.2
Food away from home		360.841	361.011	362.061	6.7	0.3	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		298.455	297.319	298.075	2.9	-0.1	0.3
Housing		359.907	361.070	361.936	6.0	0.6	0.2
Shelter		412.895	413.469	414.761	6.3	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)		438.909	440.117	441.884	7.3	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		433.261	434.550	436.052	6.4	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		433.036	434.331	435.839	6.4	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		397.944	406.011	409.439	8.7	2.9	0.8
Household energy		347.349	356.198	359.290	9.6	3.4	0.9
Energy services(1)		349.898	358.881	362.155	10.0	3.5	0.9
Electricity(1)		386.548	394.103	394.357	10.9	2.0	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		283.586	296.771	307.813	7.0	8.5	3.7
Household furnishings and operations		159.572	160.080	158.904	1.8	-0.4	-0.7
Apparel		127.492	125.295	126.129	2.1	-1.1	0.7
Transportation		279.390	280.081	282.174	-0.3	1.0	0.7
Private transportation		277.548	278.985	281.415	0.0	1.4	0.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)		128.793	128.809	128.121	-2.3	-0.5	-0.5
New vehicles		177.950	177.899	177.631	2.1	-0.2	-0.2
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		176.932	176.927	176.411	1.4	-0.3	-0.3
Used cars and trucks		193.589	193.510	191.354	-6.5	-1.2	-1.1
Motor fuel		367.307	368.938	385.366	-4.0	4.9	4.5
Gasoline (all types)		365.896	367.687	383.575	-3.8	4.8	4.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		362.270	364.008	379.946	-3.9	4.9	4.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		348.497	350.482	365.104	-3.7	4.8	4.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		357.340	359.201	373.938	-3.3	4.6	4.1
Medical Care		580.121	578.175	582.797	1.3	0.5	0.8
Medical care commodities		455.711	457.845	460.952	6.1	1.2	0.7
Medical care services		618.739	615.583	620.667	0.3	0.3	0.8
Professional services		402.789	403.119	409.657	4.7	1.7	1.6
Recreation(3)		130.432	130.987	130.827	5.0	0.3	-0.1
Education and communication(3)		143.390	142.905	143.073	0.1	-0.2	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,650.109	1,635.802	1,644.339	2.1	-0.3	0.5
Other goods and services		538.391	533.951	546.275	7.4	1.5	2.3
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		324.448	324.865	326.234	3.9	0.6	0.4
Commodities		229.492	229.247	230.254	0.7	0.3	0.4
Commodities less food & beverages		179.066	178.618	179.482	-1.6	0.2	0.5
Nondurables less food & beverages		237.010	236.154	239.979	0.3	1.3	1.6
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		313.781	313.862	319.783	0.0	1.9	1.9
Durables		127.985	127.795	127.089	-3.3	-0.7	-0.6
Services		411.792	412.915	414.611	5.9	0.7	0.4
Rent of shelter(2)		440.243	440.871	442.249	6.4	0.5	0.3
Transportation services		378.716	380.992	380.872	6.0	0.6	0.0
Other services		405.637	405.146	408.719	5.7	0.8	0.9
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		312.618	313.133	314.361	4.1	0.6	0.4
All items less food		322.795	323.185	324.573	3.8	0.6	0.4
All items less shelter		289.655	290.009	291.418	2.5	0.6	0.5
Commodities less food		183.672	183.204	184.076	-1.5	0.2	0.5
Nondurables		285.567	285.321	287.987	2.6	0.8	0.9
Nondurables less food		241.969	241.092	244.773	0.5	1.2	1.5
Nondurables less food and apparel		311.889	311.860	317.308	0.2	1.7	1.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)		421.679	423.630	425.975	5.2	1.0	0.6
Services less medical care services		397.238	398.650	400.114	6.5	0.7	0.4
Energy		365.261	370.197	380.890	1.3	4.3	2.9
All items less energy		324.494	324.638	325.450	4.1	0.3	0.3
All items less food and energy		323.444	323.518	324.264	4.1	0.3	0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities		164.331	163.708	163.371	-0.6	-0.6	-0.2
Energy commodities		373.848	375.567	391.970	-4.0	4.8	4.4
Services less energy services		416.999	417.698	419.315	5.7	0.6	0.4
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.