Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April increase was influenced by higher prices for used cars and trucks. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 4.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 7.4 percent. Energy prices decreased 5.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.4 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, West region, April 2020–April 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Apr 2020	1.3	2.1
May 2020	0.8	1.9
Jun 2020	1.2	1.7
Jul 2020	1.7	2.0
Aug 2020	1.9	1.9
Sep 2020	1.6	1.6
Oct 2020	1.2	1.6
Nov 2020	1.4	1.8
Dec 2020	1.5	1.5
Jan 2021	1.4	1.3
Feb 2021	1.6	1.2
Mar 2021	2.4	1.5
Apr 2021	3.9	2.7
May 2021	4.7	3.3
Jun 2021	5.1	4.1
Jul 2021	5.2	3.9
Aug 2021	5.0	3.8
Sep 2021	5.3	4.0
Oct 2021	6.0	4.5
Nov 2021	6.5	4.8
Dec 2021	7.1	5.5
Jan 2022	7.7	6.2
Feb 2022	8.1	6.7
Mar 2022	8.7	6.8
Apr 2022	8.3	6.4
May 2022	8.3	6.2
Jun 2022	8.8	6.2
Jul 2022	8.3	6.3
Aug 2022	8.1	6.7
Sep 2022	8.3	6.8
Oct 2022	8.1	6.4
Nov 2022	7.1	6.0
Dec 2022	6.2	5.7
Jan 2023	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.0	5.3
Mar 2023	5.1	5.5
Apr 2023	4.9	5.4

Food prices were unchanged for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-0.7 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 6.2 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in all six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 9.5 percent.

The energy index increased 0.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (1.5 percent). Prices for electricity rose 0.2 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 4.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 5.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-13.3 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 9.2 percent, and prices for natural gas service rose 7.7 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in April. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (4.1 percent), other goods and services (2.5 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.6 percent) and recreation (6.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-6.8 percent).

The May 2023 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on June 13, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for Atlanta 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Feb. 2023	Mar. 2023	Apr. 2023	Apr. 2022	Feb. 2023	Mar. 2023
Expenditure category
All Items		319.130	320.715	322.187	4.9	1.0	0.5
All items (December 1977=100)		515.856	518.418	520.798	-	-	-
Food and beverages		331.238	331.258	331.548	7.1	0.1	0.1
Food		333.661	333.701	333.743	7.4	0.0	0.0
Food at home		316.268	315.503	314.637	6.2	-0.5	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products		331.262	333.574	332.578	12.2	0.4	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		341.195	338.826	336.825	1.1	-1.3	-0.6
Dairy and related products		290.008	287.071	289.049	8.5	-0.3	0.7
Fruits and vegetables		396.585	392.878	390.117	2.6	-1.6	-0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		223.518	222.004	223.174	7.5	-0.2	0.5
Other food at home		270.958	272.486	271.392	8.7	0.2	-0.4
Food away from home		355.544	357.253	359.175	9.5	1.0	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		294.269	294.005	297.670	3.1	1.2	1.2
Housing		355.153	356.733	357.199	7.2	0.6	0.1
Shelter		406.180	409.093	409.741	7.6	0.9	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)		431.790	433.373	434.691	8.0	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		427.127	428.785	430.211	7.7	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		426.893	428.548	429.984	7.7	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities		399.576	396.577	394.381	7.6	-1.3	-0.6
Household energy		351.683	347.912	344.800	8.8	-2.0	-0.9
Energy services(1)		353.797	349.968	346.900	9.1	-1.9	-0.9
Electricity(1)		374.628	384.281	384.902	9.2	2.7	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		327.209	289.487	277.002	7.7	-15.3	-4.3
Household furnishings and operations		158.779	157.947	158.670	3.9	-0.1	0.5
Apparel		127.478	127.365	127.835	4.0	0.3	0.4
Transportation		268.311	271.597	275.170	-1.7	2.6	1.3
Private transportation		265.621	269.122	272.546	-1.5	2.6	1.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		123.902	124.853	126.760	-0.3	2.3	1.5
New vehicles		176.331	176.980	177.458	4.5	0.6	0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		176.063	176.403	176.438	4.7	0.2	0.0
Used cars and trucks		176.567	178.001	185.323	-6.8	5.0	4.1
Motor fuel		344.103	355.131	360.022	-13.3	4.6	1.4
Gasoline (all types)		341.017	352.676	358.005	-13.3	5.0	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		337.356	349.057	354.390	-13.5	5.0	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		325.409	336.140	341.128	-12.9	4.8	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		334.111	344.904	349.897	-12.2	4.7	1.4
Medical Care		570.411	574.691	577.995	2.5	1.3	0.6
Medical care commodities		445.564	448.140	449.743	5.5	0.9	0.4
Medical care services		609.124	613.921	617.737	1.9	1.4	0.6
Professional services		396.720	397.856	397.866	3.0	0.3	0.0
Recreation(3)		129.436	129.887	130.743	6.7	1.0	0.7
Education and communication(3)		143.669	143.375	143.837	1.9	0.1	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,631.640	1,637.934	1,646.081	5.2	0.9	0.5
Other goods and services		515.768	520.785	533.577	7.3	3.5	2.5
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		319.130	320.715	322.187	4.9	1.0	0.5
Commodities		225.645	226.626	227.749	1.7	0.9	0.5
Commodities less food & beverages		175.017	176.212	177.498	-1.7	1.4	0.7
Nondurables less food & beverages		230.487	233.678	234.974	-2.2	1.9	0.6
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		302.702	308.205	310.080	-3.7	2.4	0.6
Durables		125.666	125.726	126.845	-1.0	0.9	0.9
Services		405.137	407.302	409.081	6.9	1.0	0.4
Rent of shelter(2)		433.033	436.164	436.860	7.7	0.9	0.2
Transportation services		369.034	372.163	374.955	7.2	1.6	0.8
Other services		399.384	400.239	405.204	6.4	1.5	1.2
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		307.503	308.969	310.360	5.1	0.9	0.5
All items less food		317.006	318.811	320.487	4.5	1.1	0.5
All items less shelter		284.886	285.929	287.751	3.4	1.0	0.6
Commodities less food		179.572	180.751	182.101	-1.5	1.4	0.7
Nondurables		280.973	282.737	283.585	3.0	0.9	0.3
Nondurables less food		235.533	238.553	239.989	-1.8	1.9	0.6
Nondurables less food and apparel		301.446	306.423	308.455	-3.1	2.3	0.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)		414.997	416.072	419.580	5.8	1.1	0.8
Services less medical care services		390.792	392.776	394.415	7.4	0.9	0.4
Energy		354.104	358.631	359.985	-5.0	1.7	0.4
All items less energy		319.491	320.909	322.400	5.7	0.9	0.5
All items less food and energy		317.968	319.601	321.320	5.4	1.1	0.5
Commodities less food and energy commodities		161.770	162.165	163.217	1.4	0.9	0.6
Energy commodities		351.001	362.031	366.837	-13.1	4.5	1.3
Services less energy services		409.738	412.240	414.292	6.8	1.1	0.5
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (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. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.