Prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in August 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the energy index fell 11.8 percent, and the food index rose 2.9 percent in July and August. The all items less food and energy index advanced 1.2 percent over the past two months, largely due to increases in the categories for owners’ equivalent rent of residences and rent of primary residence. (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 9.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 7.0 percent over the year. Energy prices advanced 26.1 percent, while food prices increased 14.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.9 percent for the two months ending in August. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 3.0 percent. Prices for food at home (grocery store prices) advanced 2.8 percent over the two-month period. The increase in the index for food at home was mainly due to increases in the cost of other food at home (+3.0 percent), cereals and bakery products (+5.8 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+5.7 percent). Prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined (-0.5 percent) over the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 14.8 percent, the largest increase in the index since April 1979. The rise was driven by historic increases in both major food categories. Prices for food at home advanced 16.8 percent since a year ago, the largest annual rise since May 1974. Prices for food away from home rose 12.8 percent, the first double digit rise since the year ended in August 1981.

Energy

The energy index declined 11.8 percent for the two months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-23.2 percent), but price declines for electricity (-1.9 percent) also contributed. Partially offsetting these decreases, prices for natural gas service advanced 34.5 percent for the same period.

From August 2021 to August 2022, energy prices advanced 26.1 percent, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+25.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 50.0 percent, and prices for electricity increased 21.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent in July and August, after rising 0.6 percent in May and June. The largest contributors to the rise included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+1.9 percent), motor vehicle maintenance and repair, and rent of primary residence (+1.4 percent). This increase was partially offset by lower prices for lodging away from home, public transportation, and education and communication (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 7.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.7 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+9.0 percent), rent of primary residence (+6.9 percent), and recreation (+9.5 percent). Partly offsetting these increases was a 3.0 percent decline in education and communication.

The October 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 10, 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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller.

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,
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, August 2022 (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Aug. 2021	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022
All items	263.874	-	264.074	9.5	0.1	-
All items (1967 = 100)	846.339	-	846.980
Food and beverages	273.001	-	280.536	13.7	2.8	-
Food	275.046	-	283.030	14.8	2.9	-
Food at home	266.856	269.562	274.391	16.8	2.8	1.8
Cereals and bakery products	315.069	-	333.444	25.9	5.8	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	305.163	-	303.501	13.5	-0.5	-
Dairy and related products	215.627	-	228.118	20.2	5.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	315.936	-	320.898	10.3	1.6	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	324.526	-	342.991	19.7	5.7	-
Other food at home	233.221	-	240.142	17.4	3.0	-
Food away from home	278.266	-	286.571	12.8	3.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.211	-	232.998	-1.4	0.3	-
Housing	253.555	-	256.133	8.0	1.0	-
Shelter	290.559	290.632	293.375	6.4	1.0	0.9
Rent of primary residence	285.944	287.239	289.977	6.9	1.4	1.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	270.141	271.942	275.194	6.7	1.9	1.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	270.141	271.942	275.194	6.7	1.9	1.2
Fuels and utilities	245.206	-	251.004	20.4	2.4	-
Household energy	225.111	223.104	231.890	25.9	3.0	3.9
Energy services	220.986	218.997	227.727	25.7	3.1	4.0
Electricity	226.778	226.778	222.414	21.3	-1.9	-1.9
Utility (piped) gas service	171.932	-	231.303	50.0	34.5	-
Household furnishings and operations	162.436	-	162.103	5.0	-0.2	-
Apparel	176.391	-	180.341	2.6	2.2	-
Transportation	248.651	-	237.619	19.2	-4.4	-
Private transportation	251.729	-	241.382	18.4	-4.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	109.398	-	109.674	9.0	0.3	-
New vehicles(1)	191.631	-	193.517	10.1	1.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	348.190	-	347.671	8.1	-0.1	-
Motor fuel	404.164	364.660	312.061	26.2	-22.8	-14.4
Gasoline (all types)	403.521	363.484	310.094	25.3	-23.2	-14.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	410.915	368.726	313.584	25.4	-23.7	-15.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	426.561	391.509	338.318	25.2	-20.7	-13.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	418.041	388.227	339.670	24.4	-18.7	-12.5
Medical care	547.724	-	551.549	3.6	0.7	-
Recreation(3)	126.909	-	127.471	9.5	0.4	-
Education and communication(3)	121.363	-	120.587	-3.0	-0.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,297.925	-	1,289.138	0.5	-0.7	-
Other goods and services	445.069	-	452.941	4.8	1.8	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	213.895	-	208.773	11.2	-2.4	-
Commodities less food and beverages	183.844	-	174.069	9.8	-5.3	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	252.536	-	228.807	12.1	-9.4	-
Durables	122.125	-	121.382	7.3	-0.6	-
Services	315.474	-	320.790	8.4	1.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	254.256	-	253.418	11.0	-0.3	-
All items less medical care	249.926	-	249.985	10.1	0.0	-
Commodities less food	185.873	-	176.312	9.4	-5.1	-
Nondurables	263.032	-	254.757	12.9	-3.1	-
Nondurables less food	250.802	-	228.594	11.1	-8.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	339.962	-	348.184	10.6	2.4	-
Services less medical care services	290.784	-	296.042	9.0	1.8	-
Energy	303.819	285.587	267.881	26.1	-11.8	-6.2
All items less energy	263.563	-	267.469	8.1	1.5	-
All items less food and energy	261.484	-	264.700	7.0	1.2	-
(1) Indexes on an April 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.