Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in July 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that a 0.7-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy was the leading factor in the rise, but higher prices for energy and food also contributed. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 5.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.6 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 22.3 percent, while food prices advanced 3.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in July. Within the two components of the index, prices for food at home advanced 0.8 percent, while prices for food away from home also advanced 0.8 percent for the same period.

During the 12 months ending in July 2021, the index for food rose 3.8 percent. The rise reflected an increase in prices for both food at home and food away from home, which rose 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.3 percent for the two months ending in July, after rising 4.5 percent in the two months ending in May. The latest increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (3.8 percent), but prices for gasoline (1.4 percent) and natural gas service (1.5 percent) also increased for the same period.

From July 2020 to July 2021, energy prices jumped 22.3 percent, almost entirely due to higher prices for gasoline (45.1 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 25.0 percent, while prices for electricity edged up 0.1 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent in June and July, after rising 1.7 percent in April and May. The latest movement was primarily fueled by higher prices for used cars and trucks (11.0 percent), owners’ equivalent rent of residences (0.9 percent) and rent of primary residence (1.3 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-5.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.1 percent), as well as recreation (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.6 percent. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (23.5 percent), owners’ equivalent rent of residences (3.4 percent) and rent of primary residence (3.1 percent) contributed most to the increase. Partly offsetting the increases were falling prices for motor vehicle insurance (-9.3 percent).

The September 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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,
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, July 2021 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021
All items	251.228	-	253.319	5.6	0.8	-
All items (1967 = 100)	788.087	-	794.647
Food and beverages	271.289	-	273.869	3.6	1.0	-
Food	265.682	-	267.864	3.8	0.8	-
Food at home	222.871	224.000	224.736	3.7	0.8	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	266.505	-	264.637	2.7	-0.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	262.382	-	276.029	10.7	5.2	-
Dairy and related products	201.201	-	202.407	4.8	0.6	-
Fruits and vegetables	197.031	-	189.293	-2.0	-3.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	191.853	-	193.600	-1.1	0.9	-
Other food at home	210.855	-	212.037	3.5	0.6	-
Food away from home	330.055	-	332.712	3.9	0.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	345.249	-	353.515	1.0	2.4	-
Housing	245.318	-	247.315	3.5	0.8	-
Shelter	274.691	275.845	277.107	3.6	0.9	0.5
Rent of primary residence	293.422	295.813	297.134	3.1	1.3	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	296.599	298.139	299.308	3.4	0.9	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	296.599	298.139	299.308	3.4	0.9	0.4
Fuels and utilities	252.036	-	257.894	2.7	2.3	-
Household energy	220.934	221.426	228.414	3.7	3.4	3.2
Energy services	217.280	217.771	224.731	3.6	3.4	3.2
Electricity	200.695	201.191	208.395	0.1	3.8	3.6
Utility (piped) gas service	247.422	247.733	251.117	25.0	1.5	1.4
Household furnishings and operations	129.138	-	127.657	3.4	-1.1	-
Apparel	112.046	-	106.021	2.0	-5.4	-
Transportation	225.643	-	231.233	19.7	2.5	-
Private transportation	229.448	-	236.646	19.8	3.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	120.311	-	126.799	23.5	5.4	-
New vehicles(1)	208.864	-	213.344	13.7	2.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	421.669	-	467.846	41.2	11.0	-
Motor fuel	261.107	260.594	264.808	45.1	1.4	1.6
Gasoline (all types)	259.701	259.050	263.223	45.1	1.4	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	250.032	249.186	253.276	46.4	1.3	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	274.215	274.966	278.945	40.3	1.7	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	275.377	276.319	280.193	35.0	1.7	1.4
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	685.646	-	686.457	-9.3	0.1	-
Medical care	481.412	-	481.860	0.9	0.1	-
Recreation(3)	124.827	-	124.290	0.7	-0.4	-
Education and communication(3)	135.229	-	135.314	2.4	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,272.244	-	1,276.539	1.4	0.3	-
Other goods and services	445.023	-	463.615	9.0	4.2	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	186.582	-	188.399	9.1	1.0	-
Commodities less food and beverages	148.729	-	150.198	12.6	1.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	183.627	-	181.214	10.4	-1.3	-
Durables	118.806	-	123.154	15.1	3.7	-
Services	314.208	-	316.567	3.7	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	240.963	-	242.906	6.7	0.8	-
All items less medical care	240.059	-	242.212	6.0	0.9	-
Commodities less food	153.630	-	155.246	12.0	1.1	-
Nondurables	223.538	-	223.237	6.7	-0.1	-
Nondurables less food	190.937	-	189.011	9.5	-1.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	366.615	-	368.836	3.7	0.6	-
Services less medical care services	296.051	-	298.607	4.0	0.9	-
Energy	241.765	241.760	247.396	22.3	2.3	2.3
All items less energy	256.633	-	258.483	4.5	0.7	-
All items less food and energy	254.915	-	256.714	4.6	0.7	-
(1) Indexes on a February 1978=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) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.