Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent for the 2 months ending in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A). Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that April’s rise was mainly due to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (0.5 percent), influenced by higher prices for shelter and medical care. The energy index and food index were up 4.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. (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 4.1 percent, led by the index for all items less food and energy, up 4.6 percent largely due to rising shelter prices. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices also rose, up 2.5 percent. The energy index, after six bi-months of over-the-year declines, advanced 1.6 percent. (See table 1). 

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, April 2021–April 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Apr 2021	3.5	3.1
Jun 2021	4.9	4.5
Aug 2021	4.6	4.1
Oct 2021	5.6	4.6
Dec 2021	6.6	5.6
Feb 2022	7.3	5.9
Apr 2022	8.4	6.3
Jun 2022	8.8	5.6
Aug 2022	8.1	5.8
Oct 2022	7.8	5.8
Dec 2022	6.4	5.2
Feb 2023	6.9	6.3
Apr 2023	4.7	5.0
Jun 2023	3.1	4.6
Aug 2023	3.9	4.6
Oct 2023	3.5	4.4
Dec 2023	3.9	4.7
Feb 2024	3.4	4.2
Apr 2024	4.1	4.6

In the two months ending in April, the food index advanced 0.5 percent. The food at home index also rose 0.5 percent, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs up 3.1 percent (the largest increase since August 2022), due in part to processed fish and seafood price increases. Prices in the other food at home index advanced 2.3 percent and the cereals and bakery products index increased 0.7 percent (down from February’s 3.5 percent). Declines in the remaining grocery categories tempered the index rise. The food away from home index increased 0.4 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.5 percent. For the same period, prices for food away from home increased 4.1 percent and prices for food at home were up 1.5 percent. Leading the increase for food at home was the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (6.2 percent), the cereals and bakery products index, (3.8 percent), and the other food at home index (2.0 percent). Prices for fruits and vegetables decreased -0.8 percent, the first decline since December 2021. Declining prices continued since June 2023 for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-0.5 percent) whereas prices for dairy and related products declined (-1.5 percent) for the first time since December 2021.

The energy index increased 4.1 percent for the 2 months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to rising prices in the gasoline index, up 7.6 percent after February’s decline of -1.0 percent. Prices for electricity rose 2.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 1.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices were up 1.6 percent over the year, largely due to a higher electricity index. Prices for electricity increased 7.0 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index was down -7.0 percent, and the gasoline index decreased -0.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in the latest 2-month period. The rise was led by higher prices for shelter (0.2 percent—the smallest bi-monthly rise since February 2021) and medical care (0.9 percent). Within the shelter index, owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 0.8 percent; rent of primary residence increased 1.0 percent; and lodging away from home declined. Other major categories in the all items less food and energy index also increased, medical care increased 0.9 percent and public transportation prices rose as well. Partially offsetting the rises were lower prices for apparel (down -1.7 percent after an increase of 12.8 percent in February) and other goods and services (down -1.2 percent).

During the past year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent, mainly driven by a 6.1-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the indexes owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 6.8 percent, rent of primary residence rose 7.2 percent and lodging away from home decreased. The apparel index rose 5.9 percent over the year. Other categories also had increases— prices for recreation were up 3.7 percent, prices for education and communication advanced 3.0 percent, and prices for household furnishings and operations rose 1.5 percent. Prices for new and used motor vehicles rose 0.3 percent, the smallest increase since December 2019. New vehicles within the index increased 0.6 percent and used cars and trucks decreased -6.0 percent—continuing a nine bi-month trend of over-the-year declines. Also partially tempering the overall increase was a decrease in the medical care index, down -0.4 percent, and a decline in prices for public transportation.

The June 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is published bi-monthly. 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, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	Apr. 2023	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024
All items		311.227		313.505	4.1	0.7
All items (1967 = 100)		899.117		905.699
Food and beverages		299.224		300.471	2.3	0.4
Food		301.941		303.369	2.5	0.5
Food at home		307.428	307.840	309.060	1.5	0.5	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		423.500	417.025	426.376	3.8	0.7	2.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		329.907	339.282	340.135	-0.5	3.1	0.3
Dairy and related products		244.772	234.431	240.800	-1.5	-1.6	2.7
Fruits and vegetables		309.358	303.867	304.571	-0.8	-1.5	0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		215.273	224.843	209.964	6.2	-2.5	-6.6
Other food at home		292.541	291.335	299.262	2.0	2.3	2.7
Food away from home		285.902		287.000	4.1	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		257.737		256.615	0.1	-0.4
Housing		332.272		333.401	5.2	0.3
Shelter		411.157	412.391	412.179	6.1	0.2	-0.1
Rent of primary residence		384.693	387.091	388.598	7.2	1.0	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		420.585	421.393	423.814	6.8	0.8	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		420.585	421.393	423.814	6.8	0.8	0.6
Fuels and utilities		270.348		274.132	2.3	1.4
Household energy		223.270	226.969	226.828	2.7	1.6	-0.1
Energy services		231.664	236.717	236.728	2.9	2.2	0.0
Electricity		235.682	241.199	241.144	7.0	2.3	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		204.396	207.862	208.047	-7.0	1.8	0.1
Household furnishings and operations		145.796		145.958	1.5	0.1
Apparel		116.760		114.818	5.9	-1.7
Transportation		267.752		278.646	5.3	4.1
Private transportation		280.386		292.476	7.3	4.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.543		133.731	0.3	0.1
New vehicles(1)		239.207		238.993	0.6	-0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		338.359		339.717	-6.0	0.4
Motor fuel		304.734	308.621	327.702	-0.1	7.5	6.2
Gasoline (all types)		300.759	304.647	323.599	-0.1	7.6	6.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		295.166	299.382	319.068	-0.2	8.1	6.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		317.325	319.338	335.153	0.6	5.6	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		316.025	318.004	332.180	1.0	5.1	4.5
Medical care		590.637		595.658	-0.4	0.9
Recreation(3)		139.497		139.434	3.7	0.0
Education and communication(3)		138.809		139.430	3.0	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,158.191		1,158.588	4.5	0.0
Other goods and services		701.676		693.191	0.2	-1.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		222.901		224.088	1.3	0.5
Commodities less food and beverages		182.307		183.463	0.9	0.6
Nondurables less food and beverages		226.961		229.944	3.1	1.3
Durables		130.612		130.144	-2.2	-0.4
Services		398.727		402.079	5.4	0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		276.974		279.769	2.8	1.0
All items less medical care		299.310		301.472	4.4	0.7
Commodities less food		185.379		186.452	0.8	0.6
Nondurables		263.717		265.770	2.5	0.8
Nondurables less food		228.846		231.516	2.8	1.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)		392.568		398.767	4.5	1.6
Services less medical care services		383.699		387.015	6.0	0.9
Energy		255.086	258.908	265.436	1.6	4.1	2.5
All items less energy		320.033		321.745	4.3	0.5
All items less food and energy		326.390		328.176	4.6	0.5
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.