Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 1.0 percent in June, following increases of 0.5 percent in May and 0.7 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the advance was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over-the-year, the CPI-U rose 4.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) June marked the first month since October 2008 that the 12-month percent increase exceeded 4.0 percent. Energy prices climbed 16.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 1.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.7 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent for the month of June. Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent. Four of the six grocery categories had price increases, with the largest increase in the meats, poultry, fish and eggs category (3.9 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.6 percent.

For the year ended in June 2021, food prices advanced 1.8 percent. Prices for food at home edged up 0.2 percent, while prices for food away from home rose 3.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.8 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for household energy (3.6 percent). Prices for electricity rose 3.7 percent; prices for natural gas increased 3.1 percent, following three consecutive declines. Gasoline prices rose 1.8 in June, after increasing 4.2 percent in May.    

Over the year, energy prices rose 16.8 percent, largely due to a 40.1-percent climb in gasoline prices. Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 7.6 percent, while prices for electricity declined 0.4 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.9 percent in June. Higher prices were reported for new and used motor vehicles (7.3 percent) and recreation (2.8 percent). Prices for shelter rose 0.5 percent, the largest increase since January 2020. Lower prices for medical care (-0.5 percent) and a seasonal decline in apparel prices (-0.7 percent) partially offset the increases.

From June 2020 to June 2021, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.7 percent. Components with over-the-year increases included new and used motor vehicles (20.9 percent), shelter (1.8 percent), and apparel (10.6 percent). Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent rose 1.0 percent, and residential rent ticked up 0.1 percent.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6	0.8	2.5	0.4	1.2
February	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.3	1.4
March	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6	-0.2	2.0	0.4	2.0
April	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	-0.5	1.1	0.7	3.2
May	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5	0.5	1.4	0.5	3.2
June	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.7	0.1	1.3	1.0	4.1
July	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2	0.0	1.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8	-0.1	1.4
September	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.9
October	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5	-0.2	1.7
November	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.4
December	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6	0.1	2.2	0.4	1.6

The July 2021 Consumer Price Index for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	April 2021	May 2021	June 2021	June 2020	April 2021	May 2021
Expenditure category
All items	289.493	290.991	293.872	4.1	1.5	1.0
All items (1967=100)	836.885	841.216	849.543
Food and beverages	287.011	286.955	289.062	1.8	0.7	0.7
Food	287.250	287.277	289.528	1.8	0.8	0.8
Food at home	271.550	271.019	273.446	0.2	0.7	0.9
Cereals and bakery products	315.173	313.059	305.328	-4.5	-3.1	-2.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	274.012	275.305	286.111	1.9	4.4	3.9
Dairy and related products	241.696	239.570	242.056	-0.2	0.1	1.0
Fruits and vegetables	341.386	339.627	339.105	0.1	-0.7	-0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	268.312	266.678	267.008	0.7	-0.5	0.1
Other food at home	235.774	236.062	237.801	1.2	0.9	0.7
Food away from home	317.349	318.164	320.230	3.7	0.9	0.6
Alcoholic beverages	278.888	277.704	277.787	2.5	-0.4	0.0
Housing	312.728	313.864	316.315	2.5	1.1	0.8
Shelter	395.644	396.656	398.824	1.8	0.8	0.5
Rent of primary residence	408.794	408.391	408.583	0.1	-0.1	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	403.234	403.677	404.330	1.0	0.3	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	402.735	403.177	403.829	1.0	0.3	0.2
Fuels and utilities	201.608	203.536	209.964	4.5	4.1	3.2
Household energy	190.667	192.869	199.716	4.6	4.7	3.6
Energy services	184.739	186.784	193.393	1.9	4.7	3.5
Electricity	185.167	189.853	196.959	-0.4	6.4	3.7
Utility (piped) gas service	171.113	167.704	172.855	7.6	1.0	3.1
Household furnishings and operations	116.919	117.974	118.934	8.2	1.7	0.8
Apparel	124.678	125.626	124.798	10.6	0.1	-0.7
Transportation	233.736	239.716	246.962	16.1	5.7	3.0
Private transportation	227.887	231.454	240.305	19.2	5.4	3.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)	103.688	105.142	112.830	20.9	8.8	7.3
New vehicles(1)	213.183	212.325	215.041	3.7	0.9	1.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	324.917	346.261	383.799	45.3	18.1	10.8
Motor fuel	231.080	240.649	245.017	39.7	6.0	1.8
Gasoline (all types)	230.269	239.911	244.273	40.1	6.1	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	228.945	239.048	243.384	41.8	6.3	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	238.882	247.797	252.773	31.7	5.8	2.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	241.999	248.008	252.512	28.9	4.3	1.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	777.234	777.224	777.224	4.1	0.0	0.0
Medical care	536.584	537.225	534.576	-0.3	-0.4	-0.5
Recreation(3)	130.753	130.743	134.423	3.8	2.8	2.8
Education and communication(3)	151.253	151.377	152.071	2.9	0.5	0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,272.387	1,274.893	1,278.436	1.6	0.5	0.3
Other goods and services	449.590	449.505	451.073	2.6	0.3	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	289.493	290.991	293.872	4.1	1.5	1.0
Commodities	199.643	201.131	203.246	7.2	1.8	1.1
Commodities less food and beverages	147.839	149.932	151.919	12.3	2.8	1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	185.512	188.274	188.302	11.7	1.5	0.0
Durables	99.179	100.462	103.994	13.3	4.9	3.5
Services	364.959	366.507	370.043	2.8	1.4	1.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	278.764	280.296	283.405	4.5	1.7	1.1
All items less shelter	247.366	249.056	252.220	5.6	2.0	1.3
Commodities less food	152.689	154.697	156.639	11.8	2.6	1.3
Nondurables	237.337	238.782	239.814	5.8	1.0	0.4
Nondurables less food	191.117	193.653	193.684	10.9	1.3	0.0
Services less rent of shelter(2)	343.048	345.127	350.162	4.1	2.1	1.5
Services less medical care services	349.744	351.360	355.208	3.1	1.6	1.1
Energy	208.610	213.605	219.623	16.8	5.3	2.8
All items less energy	299.431	300.654	303.305	3.4	1.3	0.9
All items less food and energy	303.634	305.062	307.797	3.7	1.4	0.9
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (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.