Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.3 percent for the 2 months ending in March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the March rise was due largely to a rapid increase in the shelter index. The all items less food and energy index, which includes shelter, contributed the most to the increase as it rose 1.9 percent. Lower prices in the energy index and the food index offset the increase and kept the overall index within the range for the last year. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U index was up 3.7 percent. The all items less food and energy index was mainly responsible as it rose 4.0 percent, although food prices were up 5.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index tempered the overall increase, declining 6.0 percent since March 2022. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, March 2020–March 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Mar 2020	0.4	0.5
May 2020	-0.1	0.3
Jul 2020	0.8	0.9
Sep 2020	1.2	0.9
Nov 2020	1.4	1.4
Jan 2021	1.5	1.3
Mar 2021	2.6	2.0
May 2021	3.8	3.2
Jul 2021	4.4	3.6
Sep 2021	4.5	3.7
Nov 2021	5.8	4.4
Jan 2022	6.0	4.8
Mar 2022	7.3	6.0
May 2022	7.5	5.7
Jul 2022	7.5	5.6
Sep 2022	6.5	5.6
Nov 2022	5.6	4.9
Jan 2023	4.4	3.6
Mar 2023	3.7	4.0

The food index fell 0.4 percent over the last 2 months, with prices for food at home down 1.0 percent. Within the food at home category, prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased 3.7 percent, the largest decline since the index began in 2018, and largely due to falling prices for eggs. Dairy and related products were down 3.0 percent, the largest decrease since November 2020 (-4.0 percent). After increasing 3.5 percent in January, cereals and bakery products prices were down 0.5 percent in March. Prices for fruits and vegetables and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials both had increases of 0.6 percent, and other food at home reported no change. Prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent, moderating after larger increases in November (2.1 percent) and January (1.7 percent).

Over-the-year, food prices increased 5.8 percent, the smallest since November 2021 (+5.6 percent); since then, increases ranged from 6.2 percent to 8.9 percent. The 7.3-percent increase for food away from home was the highest reported 12-month increase since the index began in January 1999. Comparatively, the food at home index reported the smallest 12-month increase (+4.9 percent) since September 2021. All grocery categories had price increases from a year ago but generally moderated from previous rates of increase. The other food at home index had a 6.1-percent rise; prices for fruits and vegetables were up 5.1 percent; and cereals and bakery products increased 6.7 percent. Prices for dairy and related products were up 6.6 percent, much less than July’s series high of 18.8 percent. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials had a 5.7-percent rise and prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 1.2 percent, well below May’s peak (+13.5 percent).

In March, the energy index had its fourth consecutive bi-monthly decline, decreasing 3.7 percent over the 2-month period. Contributing the most to the decline was the utility (piped) gas index, down 24.1 percent following a 2-month increase of 9.5 percent in January; March marked the largest decline since September 2018’s 45.6-percent decrease. Declining prices for gasoline (-1.0 percent), part of a general decline since July, and fuel oil contributed to the continued decrease. The electricity index was the only component of energy to increase, with a 0.9-percent rise after -1.9 percent in November and no change in January.  

Energy prices declined 6.0 percent over the year as gasoline and utility (piped) gas had double-digit decreases of 18.2 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively — the first over-the-year decline for all three indexes since January 2021.  Prices advanced for electricity (+15.1 percent, moderating some the recent 19.1-percent peak in November) and fuel oil.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.9 percent in the 2 months ending in March 2023, the largest increase in the broad category since September 1991. The recent rise was mainly because of higher prices for shelter, up 1.7 percent, the largest 2-month increase since July 2007. Rising prices for lodging away from home, followed by owners’ equivalent rent (up 0.9 percent) contributed to the index increase while a 0.6 percent increase in rent of primary residence was well below its recent peak of 2.0 in November. Prices for new and used motor vehicles were up 2.7 percent, the first bi-monthly increase after 3 consecutive periods of decline. Prices for new vehicles advanced 0.6 percent whereas used cars and trucks prices continued to decline (down 0.7 percent); the used cars and trucks index only increased once in the past year. The household furnishings and operations index (+3.1 percent) and public transportation were both up over the month. Other components of the all items less food and energy index that supported the increase included apparel (up 5.9 percent), medical care (up 1.4 percent after two periods of decline), and recreation (up 1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.0 percent; in general, the 12-month rate of increase has slowed over the last year. This increase was primarily due to a 5.3-percent rise in the shelter index as a component index, owners’ equivalent rent of residences, was up 4.9 percent; each of these were the largest over-the-year increases since 2007. Also in shelter, the index for rent of primary residence advanced 6.5 percent; this index has accelerated over the last year – it was up just 0.9 percent last March. All other main components of the all items less food and energy index were up over the year, except medical care (down 2.7 percent, the first 12-month drop since July 2018). Prices for recreation rose 4.4 percent, and the new and used motor vehicle index had a 3.5-percent increase, the lowest since January 2021 and well below the recent peak of 25.9 percent. Within the new and used motor vehicle index, prices for new vehicles were up 4.9 percent, and used cars and trucks were down 11.2 percent, similar to the previous largest decline since the series began in 2018 reported in January (-11.3 percent).

The May 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on June 13, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

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-MD-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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2022	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023
All items		299.149		302.930	3.7	1.3
Food and beverages		300.246		299.066	5.7	-0.4
Food		309.141		307.783	5.8	-0.4
Food at home		292.227	292.633	289.229	4.9	-1.0	-1.2
Cereals and bakery products		388.780		386.810	6.7	-0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		325.326		313.396	1.2	-3.7
Dairy and related products		295.614		286.880	6.6	-3.0
Fruits and vegetables		298.774		300.469	5.1	0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		253.918		255.404	5.7	0.6
Other food at home		237.967		237.874	6.1	0.0
Food away from home		330.605		332.381	7.3	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		217.549		218.714	4.5	0.5
Housing		310.474		314.680	5.2	1.4
Shelter		367.096	370.347	373.375	5.3	1.7	0.8
Rent of primary residence		403.934	405.528	406.243	6.5	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		376.231	379.329	379.670	4.9	0.9	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		376.231	379.329	379.670	4.9	0.9	0.1
Fuels and utilities		290.883		277.237	7.5	-4.7
Household energy		233.225	233.533	219.342	7.7	-6.0	-6.1
Energy services		237.199	237.457	223.023	7.9	-6.0	-6.1
Electricity		247.996	248.488	250.285	15.1	0.9	0.7
Utility (piped) gas service		202.561	202.304	153.845	-11.2	-24.1	-24.0
Household furnishings and operations		128.072		132.044	3.3	3.1
Apparel		158.712		168.135	5.0	5.9
Transportation		256.886		263.458	1.5	2.6
Private transportation		268.036		272.667	0.7	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		123.914		127.321	3.5	2.7
New vehicles(1)		229.051		230.439	4.9	0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		403.196		400.310	-11.2	-0.7
Motor fuel		319.274	317.958	315.956	-18.0	-1.0	-0.6
Gasoline (all types)		314.350	313.195	311.305	-18.2	-1.0	-0.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		306.838	305.518	303.717	-18.8	-1.0	-0.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		322.733	322.894	320.617	-15.2	-0.7	-0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		338.201	338.431	336.069	-13.3	-0.6	-0.7
Medical care		505.570		512.859	-2.7	1.4
Recreation(3)		126.038		127.342	4.4	1.0
Education and communication(3)		163.522		164.029	1.8	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,585.466		1,585.466	5.3	0.0
Other goods and services		489.667		491.425	5.4	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		211.450		213.318	1.6	0.9
Commodities less food and beverages		167.723		170.722	-0.7	1.8
Nondurables less food and beverages		215.361		221.637	-2.1	2.9
Durables		121.585		122.410	0.6	0.7
Services		377.196		382.757	4.9	1.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		271.098		273.817	2.8	1.0
All items less medical care		289.501		293.114	4.3	1.2
Commodities less food		169.809		172.776	-0.5	1.7
Nondurables		256.691		259.177	2.0	1.0
Nondurables less food		214.925		220.864	-1.6	2.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		400.108		404.689	4.2	1.1
Services less medical care services		364.183		370.041	6.1	1.6
Energy		278.054	277.718	267.858	-6.0	-3.7	-3.6
All items less energy		305.045		309.763	4.3	1.5
All items less food and energy		305.582		311.368	4.0	1.9
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.