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News Release Information

23-37-SAN
Thursday, January 12, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, West Region — December 2022

Area prices were down 0.4 percent over the past month, up 6.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.4 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The December decrease was influenced by lower prices for gasoline. (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 6.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 9.9 percent, and energy prices advanced 5.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the month of December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.2 percent, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 9.9 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 10.7 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 6.6 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 15.2 percent for dairy and related products. Prices for food away from home increased 8.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 8.0 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-14.8 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 7.0 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 5.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (9.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 19.0 percent, and prices for gasoline rose 0.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in December. Higher prices for recreation (0.9 percent) and shelter (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.4 percent) and apparel (-1.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.6 percent) and medical care (4.7 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20182019202020212022
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.53.10.22.70.32.90.21.40.97.7

February

0.53.10.22.40.43.10.51.60.88.1

March

0.43.20.42.4-0.22.50.72.41.38.7

April

0.43.20.82.9-0.41.31.03.90.78.3

May

0.53.50.52.90.10.80.84.70.88.3

June

0.23.60.02.70.41.20.95.11.28.8

July

0.13.60.02.70.51.70.65.20.18.3

August

0.23.60.12.60.31.90.25.00.08.1

September

0.33.40.32.60.01.60.25.30.38.3

October

0.43.50.52.80.21.20.86.00.78.1

November

-0.23.3-0.12.80.01.40.56.5-0.47.1

December

-0.23.1-0.22.8-0.11.50.47.1-0.46.2

The January 2023 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on February 14, 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

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Oct.
2022
Nov.
2022
Dec.
2022
Dec.
2021
Oct.
2022
Nov.
2022

Expenditure category

All Items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0
317.299315.919314.5996.2-0.9-0.4

All items (December 1977=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400AA0
512.896510.665508.532---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF
325.289325.740326.6609.50.40.3

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF1
327.312327.717328.7299.90.40.3

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF11
312.155311.536312.23710.70.00.2

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF111
320.348322.502323.61014.81.00.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF112
343.299339.092340.5066.6-0.80.4

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEFJ
283.916287.908287.43815.21.2-0.2

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF113
391.901399.289392.1658.00.1-1.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF114
220.708217.683218.7159.8-0.90.5

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF115
266.416263.349266.94412.90.21.4

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEFV
345.261347.428348.9538.61.10.4

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAF116
293.879295.002294.5544.80.2-0.2

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAH
345.092346.277348.8897.51.10.8

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAH1
395.367397.407400.5787.61.30.8

Rent of primary residence(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHA
418.953421.796425.2107.71.50.8

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHC
416.203418.933422.3407.71.50.8

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHC01
415.996418.722422.1257.71.50.8

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAH2
379.933377.423382.5399.60.71.4

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAH21
332.078328.720334.91011.60.91.9

Energy services(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHF
333.224329.941336.66711.71.02.0

Electricity(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHF01
362.797358.898360.0459.2-0.80.3

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEHF02
284.737282.675302.49819.06.27.0

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAH3
155.108154.960154.7934.7-0.2-0.1

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAA
125.343123.579121.7684.3-2.9-1.5

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAT
287.321278.545265.6543.7-7.5-4.6

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAT1
285.147276.314263.9183.0-7.4-4.5

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SETA
128.176126.131124.1050.0-3.2-1.6

New vehicles

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SETA01
174.748174.899175.0474.90.20.1

New cars and trucks(3)(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SS4501A
------

New cars(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SS45011
174.793174.137174.6745.6-0.10.3

Used cars and trucks

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SETA02
191.640186.239181.812-8.2-5.1-2.4

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SETB
433.144392.858335.7191.3-22.5-14.5

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SETB01
430.968389.561331.9200.6-23.0-14.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SS47014
427.664386.169327.9800.4-23.3-15.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SS47015
409.380370.376318.1281.0-22.3-14.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SS47016
416.636378.267326.5871.3-21.6-13.7

Medical Care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAM
578.273573.507574.2024.7-0.70.1

Medical care commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAM1
433.426438.214439.5113.51.40.3

Medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAM2
623.019615.318615.8295.0-1.20.1

Professional services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEMC
397.833397.192398.6455.00.20.4

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAR
125.367125.109126.2884.10.70.9

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAE
143.188143.679143.6361.50.30.0

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SEEB
1,625.9601,627.4691,628.9544.30.20.1

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAG
509.802513.092508.0854.4-0.3-1.0

Commodity and Service Group

All Items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0
317.299315.919314.5996.2-0.9-0.4

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAC
230.415227.094222.7854.7-3.3-1.9

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SACL11
183.324178.844172.9151.6-5.7-3.3

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SANL11
247.557238.248224.5833.7-9.3-5.7

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SANL113
332.569318.215296.6573.5-10.8-6.8

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAD
128.069126.733125.704-0.3-1.8-0.8

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAS
396.383397.112399.0077.20.70.5

Rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAS2RS
421.427423.625427.0057.61.30.8

Transportation services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAS4
367.184366.598360.62512.5-1.8-1.6

Other services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAS367
390.163392.316394.1574.21.00.5

Special aggregate indexes:

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0L5
305.272304.038302.6396.4-0.9-0.5

All items less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0L1
315.876314.217312.5335.7-1.1-0.5

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0L2
286.702283.925280.7735.5-2.1-1.1

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SACL1
187.765183.364177.4951.7-5.5-3.2

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SAN
286.867282.249275.5957.0-3.9-2.4

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SANL1
251.708242.932229.9313.7-8.7-5.4

Nondurables less food and apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SANL13
328.539315.602295.9793.6-9.9-6.2

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SASL2RS
408.954407.832407.9846.6-0.20.0

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SASL5
380.535381.819383.7997.40.90.5

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0E
395.694371.342341.7565.7-13.6-8.0

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0LE
314.760314.877315.4026.30.20.2

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SA0L1E
313.489313.557314.0015.70.20.1

Commodities less food and energy commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SACL1E
162.359161.313160.2371.8-1.3-0.7

Energy commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SACE
440.236399.850342.5151.5-22.2-14.3

Services less energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUUR0400SASLE
401.594402.557404.1827.00.60.4

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, January 12, 2023