The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria increased 1.2 percent from September to November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted the change was largely due to a rise in the all items less food and energy index, up 1.0 percent, although the energy index and the food index also increased since September, up 5.3 and 0.9 percent, respectively. About one-third of the increase was due to a 5.1 percent rise for new and used motor vehicles prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 5.8 percent, the largest over-the-year increase since December 1990. The rise was due mostly to a 4.4-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index, the largest since May of 1993. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index and the food index also increased, up 30.8 and 5.6 percent, respectively, over the year. Energy prices had not increased as much since July 1980 and food prices since July 2011. (See table 1.)

Food

Following a 1.9-percent increase from July to September, the food index advanced 0.9 percent over the last 2 months. Prices for food at home increased 1.2 percent, and those for food away from home rose 0.6 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for rice, pasta, and cornmeal along with bread, while prices were lower for several categories including canned fruits and vegetables.

Food prices advanced 5.6 percent over the year. Prices were higher for both food away from home (5.5 percent) and for food at home (5.7 percent) since November 2020. This marked the largest 12-month increase in grocery prices in 10 years.

Energy

Since September, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 5.3 percent, reflecting higher prices for gasoline (9.2 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (12.5 percent) over the past 2 months. Gasoline prices increased every month in 2021, ranging from 0.3 to 17.5 percent. Prices were lower for electricity as they usually are in November, down 4.8 percent since September, although this was less than the 10-year average of -6.7 percent.

Energy prices rose 30.8 percent since November 2020. The rise was due almost entirely to higher gasoline prices, up 52.3 percent, the index’s largest over-the-year increase since January of 2010. Over the year, prices also increased for utility (piped) gas service and electricity, up 31.7 and 3.2 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.0 percent since September. The advance was led by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (5.1 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent), particularly the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (0.8 percent). Prices rose for most of the components of all items less food and energy but declined for apparel as they typically do in November; the 3.3 percent decline was less than the average for the past 10 years.

Since November 2020, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.4 percent. Prices were higher over the year for new and used motor vehicles (22.3 percent), due mostly to large increases for used cars and trucks (31.8 percent). Prices also increased for shelter (2.0 percent) and recreation (7.6 percent) since November 2020.

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.2	1.5	0.9	2.2	0.5	0.8	0.5	1.6	0.7	1.5
March	0.4	1.1	-0.1	1.8	0.7	1.6	-0.4	0.4	0.7	2.6
May	0.0	0.3	0.7	2.5	0.6	1.6	0.1	-0.1	1.3	3.8
July	0.0	0.5	0.1	2.5	-0.3	1.2	0.6	0.8	1.2	4.4
September	0.9	1.7	0.4	2.0	0.1	0.9	0.6	1.2	0.7	4.5
November	0.0	1.5	-0.7	1.3	-0.2	1.5	0.0	1.4	1.2	5.8

The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Nov. 2020	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021
All items		280.933		284.240	5.8	1.2
Food and beverages		274.070		276.452	5.5	0.9
Food		281.734		284.238	5.6	0.9
Food at home		261.302	264.639	264.444	5.7	1.2	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products		333.423		346.026	5.2	3.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		301.436		303.472	10.6	0.7
Dairy and related products		247.965		246.307	2.3	-0.7
Fruits and vegetables		270.677		276.159	9.6	2.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		224.408		221.858	2.5	-1.1
Other food at home		214.085		218.070	1.5	1.9
Food away from home		307.683		309.505	5.5	0.6
Alcoholic beverages		202.667		203.997	4.4	0.7
Housing		291.460		292.657	3.1	0.4
Shelter		348.438	348.931	350.199	2.0	0.5	0.4
Rent of primary residence		377.966	378.886	379.127	0.2	0.3	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		356.240	357.191	359.230	2.0	0.8	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		356.240	357.191	359.230	2.0	0.8	0.6
Fuels and utilities		255.139		257.061	10.7	0.8
Household energy		197.234	206.193	199.144	12.1	1.0	-3.4
Energy services		201.829	210.989	202.901	11.5	0.5	-3.8
Electricity		218.674	220.541	208.146	3.2	-4.8	-5.6
Utility (piped) gas service		157.863	178.073	177.627	31.7	12.5	-0.3
Household furnishings and operations		118.137		117.490	6.6	-0.5
Apparel		156.354		151.232	2.0	-3.3
Transportation		234.184		245.416	16.8	4.8
Private transportation		244.199		256.105	20.9	4.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)		113.192		118.939	22.3	5.1
New vehicles(1)		212.762		222.566	15.2	4.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		410.489		431.853	31.8	5.2
Motor fuel		290.520	306.629	317.374	52.2	9.2	3.5
Gasoline (all types)		287.525	303.330	313.932	52.3	9.2	3.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		280.947	297.044	307.616	53.9	9.5	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		294.894	307.231	317.009	44.3	7.5	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		305.632	317.677	327.385	42.4	7.1	3.1
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		827.287		842.784	2.7	1.9
Medical care		501.250		506.325	2.0	1.0
Recreation(3)		119.315		121.199	7.6	1.6
Education and communication(3)		161.632		161.431	3.5	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,505.907		1,504.949	4.7	-0.1
Other goods and services		452.985		459.942	5.8	1.5
Commodity and service group
Commodities		196.325		200.013	10.3	1.9
Commodities less food and beverages		157.158		161.416	14.6	2.7
Nondurables less food and beverages		202.419		206.388	13.3	2.0
Durables		113.411		117.395	16.0	3.5
Services		356.617		359.253	3.1	0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		253.303		257.078	7.6	1.5
All items less medical care		270.522		273.745	6.1	1.2
Commodities less food		159.183		163.285	13.9	2.6
Nondurables		237.324		240.387	8.4	1.3
Nondurables less food		201.944		205.593	12.2	1.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		377.697		381.394	4.3	1.0
Services less medical care services		341.882		344.338	3.2	0.7
Energy		242.173	254.446	255.017	30.8	5.3	0.2
All items less energy		287.708		290.433	4.6	0.9
All items less food and energy		289.913		292.693	4.4	1.0
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 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.