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News Release Information

23-513-SAN
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — February 2023

Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past two months, up 8.0 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in February 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that 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 8.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 10.4 percent. Energy prices rose 7.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 7.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.5 percent for the two months ending in February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 1.9 percent, with higher prices in four of the six subcategories. Prices for food away from home increased 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 10.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 6.6 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 0.6 percent for fruits and vegetables to 18.7 percent for cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home advanced 16.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 3.3 percent for the two months ending in February. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (6.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 5.0 percent, and prices for gasoline increased 1.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 7.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (5.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service moved up 17.5 percent, and prices for electricity increased 7.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (3.9 percent) and shelter (1.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.8 percent) and education and communication (-1.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (11.0 percent) and recreation (8.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-14.2 percent) and apparel (-3.7 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

0.7 2.7 1.0 2.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 8.1 1.4 8.0

April

0.5 2.4 -0.6 1.3 1.1 3.4 2.1 9.1

June

0.7 2.3 0.2 0.9 2.2 5.5 3.2 10.1

August

0.6 3.2 1.4 1.6 1.1 5.2 0.0 9.0

October

-0.6 2.2 -0.1 2.1 1.1 6.5 1.0 8.9

December

-0.3 2.2 -0.4 1.4 0.6 7.6 0.1 8.4

The April 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on May 10, 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (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

330.489 - 334.987 8.0 1.4 -

All items (1967=100)

1,007.460 - 1,021.172 - - -

Food and beverages

350.036 - 355.033 9.8 1.4 -

Food

354.184 - 359.537 10.4 1.5 -

Food at home

314.608 317.695 320.613 6.6 1.9 0.9

Cereals and bakery products

360.165 - 377.476 18.7 4.8 -

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

282.985 - 294.298 3.6 4.0 -

Dairy and related products

276.227 - 295.374 13.1 6.9 -

Fruits and vegetables

490.141 - 484.436 0.6 -1.2 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

404.313 - 411.131 4.1 1.7 -

Other food at home

249.910 - 249.030 7.7 -0.4 -

Food away from home

417.676 - 421.081 16.2 0.8 -

Alcoholic beverages

299.740 - 301.460 3.5 0.6 -

Housing

393.061 - 399.950 9.6 1.8 -

Shelter

450.460 453.249 456.994 11.0 1.5 0.8

Rent of primary residence(2)

452.639 458.693 462.371 10.6 2.2 0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

474.008 475.305 478.695 10.6 1.0 0.7

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

474.008 475.305 478.695 10.6 1.0 0.7

Fuels and utilities

307.204 - 322.319 7.0 4.9 -

Household energy

275.674 292.573 292.154 9.6 6.0 -0.1

Energy services(2)

322.431 342.564 342.564 9.5 6.2 0.0

Electricity(2)

336.000 358.495 358.495 7.0 6.7 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

211.701 222.311 222.311 17.5 5.0 0.0

Household furnishings and operations

224.934 - 229.626 2.4 2.1 -

Apparel

125.508 - 130.382 -3.7 3.9 -

Transportation

285.623 - 287.302 9.4 0.6 -

Private transportation

299.263 - 299.920 8.4 0.2 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

124.161 - 124.409 -0.9 0.2 -

New vehicles(1)

220.509 - 222.984 4.8 1.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

433.491 - 421.222 -14.2 -2.8 -

Motor fuel

468.805 458.680 476.176 5.4 1.6 3.8

Gasoline (all types)

475.340 465.596 483.782 5.0 1.8 3.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

514.752 504.929 524.462 5.1 1.9 3.9

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

379.005 368.688 382.790 4.6 1.0 3.8

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

441.171 429.864 447.338 4.8 1.4 4.1

Medical care

431.457 - 432.231 -0.2 0.2 -

Recreation(6)

116.600 - 118.367 8.8 1.5 -

Education and communication(6)

150.296 - 148.628 1.3 -1.1 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

- - - - - -

Other goods and services

- - 484.378 6.9 - -

Commodity and service group

All items

330.489 - 334.987 8.0 1.4 -

Commodities

239.014 - 241.835 4.6 1.2 -

Commodities less food & beverages

187.076 - 189.013 1.3 1.0 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

216.686 - 222.166 4.0 2.5 -

Durables

155.063 - 154.807 -0.9 -0.2 -

Services

414.626 - 420.780 10.1 1.5 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

326.206 - 330.867 8.6 1.4 -

All items less shelter

284.119 - 287.833 6.3 1.3 -

Commodities less food

191.476 - 193.414 1.4 1.0 -

Nondurables

280.607 - 285.948 7.4 1.9 -

Nondurables less food

223.676 - 228.872 4.0 2.3 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

380.871 - 386.687 8.7 1.5 -

Services less medical care services

409.149 - 415.928 11.1 1.7 -

Energy

380.808 385.065 393.429 7.1 3.3 2.2

All items less energy

331.390 - 335.602 8.1 1.3 -

All items less food and energy

327.795 - 331.830 7.7 1.2 -

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023