Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in September 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.5 percent in August and September, largely due to increases in the shelter and apparel categories. The food index increased 2.4 percent, while the energy index fell 9.8 percent over the past two months. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 9.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 7.2 percent over the year, the largest 12-month increase since the index was published in 1983. Food prices rose 14.2 percent during the same period, the largest increase since March 1974. Energy prices rose 21.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.4 percent for the two months ending in September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.4 percent, mainly due to price increases for fruits and vegetables (+8.2 percent) and other food at home (+3.2 percent). This increase was slightly offset by lower prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-2.0 percent) and dairy and related products (-0.9 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 2.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 14.2 percent; this rise was driven by historic increases in both major food categories.  Prices for food at home increased 16.8 percent since a year ago, also the largest 12-month increase since March 1974. The increase was mainly due to large increases in the other food at home (+20.8 percent) and fruits and vegetables (+21.9 percent) categories, but all six grocery indexes contributed. Prices for food away from home increased 11.1 percent, the second consecutive double-digit increase seen for this category.

Energy

The energy index declined 9.8 percent in August and September. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-21.6 percent). The two-month decline was partially offset by an increase in prices for natural gas service (+13.1 percent) and electricity (+1.3 percent).

From September 2021 to September 2022, energy prices rose 21.7 percent, mainly due to higher prices for electricity (+30.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 36.1 percent, and prices for gasoline increased 11.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Components most contributing to the rise include shelter (+1.8 percent), apparel (+4.5 percent), and motor vehicle maintenance and repair. These increases were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-4.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.2 percent. The index for shelter increased 8.6 percent, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending in December 1981. Other indexes with notable increases over the year include new and used motor vehicles (+9.7 percent) and medical care (+6.2 percent). Slightly offsetting the increase was a decline in the index for education and communication (-3.2 percent).

The November 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods,
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, September 2022 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Sep. 2021	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022
All items	277.005	-	278.297	9.2	0.5	-
All items (1967 = 100)	868.949	-	873.002
Food and beverages	307.220	-	314.586	13.5	2.4	-
Food	302.627	-	309.825	14.2	2.4	-
Food at home	259.676	262.666	265.951	16.8	2.4	1.3
Cereals and bakery products	299.302	-	305.384	12.4	2.0	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	319.096	-	322.263	12.5	1.0	-
Dairy and related products	233.823	-	231.714	19.1	-0.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	213.303	-	230.784	21.9	8.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	229.262	-	224.768	13.7	-2.0	-
Other food at home	248.796	-	256.663	20.8	3.2	-
Food away from home	366.109	-	374.636	11.1	2.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	361.785	-	371.484	5.4	2.7	-
Housing	272.042	-	276.995	10.6	1.8	-
Shelter	298.028	301.169	303.312	8.6	1.8	0.7
Rent of primary residence	324.536	326.759	330.192	10.1	1.7	1.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	319.516	322.349	325.239	7.8	1.8	0.9
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	319.516	322.349	325.239	7.8	1.8	0.9
Fuels and utilities	338.087	-	345.991	23.8	2.3	-
Household energy	326.246	331.995	336.048	31.3	3.0	1.2
Energy services	321.856	327.692	331.715	31.6	3.1	1.2
Electricity	306.957	306.957	310.933	30.7	1.3	1.3
Utility (piped) gas service	310.929	348.467	351.560	36.1	13.1	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	135.384	-	137.351	10.4	1.5	-
Apparel	112.110	-	117.128	4.2	4.5	-
Transportation	272.281	-	258.138	13.3	-5.2	-
Private transportation	279.365	-	262.579	11.8	-6.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	139.430	-	136.025	9.7	-2.4	-
New vehicles(1)	223.366	-	224.554	5.2	0.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	500.696	-	479.284	7.9	-4.3	-
Motor fuel	380.841	324.912	299.797	12.1	-21.3	-7.7
Gasoline (all types)	377.041	321.328	295.585	11.2	-21.6	-8.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	363.973	309.715	284.487	11.2	-21.8	-8.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	396.648	339.021	313.843	11.3	-20.9	-7.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	390.679	337.274	313.917	11.0	-19.6	-6.9
Medical care	499.554	-	505.119	6.2	1.1	-
Recreation(3)	123.216	-	124.766	-0.1	1.3	-
Education and communication(3)	131.565	-	131.754	-3.2	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,297.449	-	1,324.873	2.5	2.1	-
Other goods and services	-	-	483.670	3.6	-	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	212.027	-	207.521	9.4	-2.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	169.356	-	161.780	7.3	-4.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	219.023	-	201.139	8.7	-8.2	-
Durables	128.489	-	128.377	5.8	-0.1	-
Services	341.037	-	347.220	9.0	1.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	268.185	-	267.470	9.5	-0.3	-
All items less medical care	266.118	-	267.200	9.4	0.4	-
Commodities less food	174.400	-	166.994	7.2	-4.2	-
Nondurables	259.888	-	252.086	11.1	-3.0	-
Nondurables less food	225.898	-	208.842	8.4	-7.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	397.501	-	404.625	9.4	1.8	-
Services less medical care services	323.154	-	329.278	9.3	1.9	-
Energy	354.394	329.943	319.720	21.7	-9.8	-3.1
All items less energy	275.387	-	279.907	8.0	1.6	-
All items less food and energy	271.294	-	275.468	7.2	1.5	-
(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.