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News Release Information

24-1909-SAN
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — August 2024

Area prices were up 0.1 percent over the past two months, up 3.1 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle 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 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 rose 3.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 0.9 percent. Energy prices declined 6.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.8 percent, led by higher prices for other food at home (3.2 percent) and dairy and related products (3.1 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 0.9 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 0.5 percent since a year ago, with lower prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 2.0 percent for the two months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.8 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 2.1 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices declined 6.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-14.9 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 9.5 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 9.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.4 percent) and recreation (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.0 percent) and medical care (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (6.2 percent) and medical care (6.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-12.8 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

1.0 2.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 8.1 1.4 8.0 1.2 4.3

April

-0.6 1.3 1.1 3.4 2.1 9.1 1.0 6.9 1.2 4.4

June

0.2 0.9 2.2 5.5 3.2 10.1 1.0 4.6 0.4 3.8

August

1.4 1.6 1.1 5.2 0.0 9.0 0.8 5.4 0.1 3.1

October

-0.1 2.1 1.1 6.5 1.0 8.9 0.4 4.8

December

-0.4 1.4 0.6 7.6 0.1 8.4 -0.3 4.4

The October 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2024.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Historical
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Aug.
2023
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024

Expenditure category

All items

354.824 - 355.179 3.1 0.1 -

All items (1967=100)

1,081.641 - 1,082.725 - - -

Food and beverages

359.759 - 362.555 1.4 0.8 -

Food

361.428 - 364.226 0.9 0.8 -

Food at home

318.391 322.335 320.908 -0.5 0.8 -0.4

Cereals and bakery products

389.718 402.412 393.075 4.7 0.9 -2.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

289.587 293.073 286.234 -1.1 -1.2 -2.3

Dairy and related products

281.278 282.782 290.133 -1.6 3.1 2.6

Fruits and vegetables

493.726 493.487 492.555 0.7 -0.2 -0.2

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

407.658 412.053 400.710 -2.3 -1.7 -2.8

Other food at home

244.463 248.469 252.247 -1.6 3.2 1.5

Food away from home

431.965 - 435.193 3.2 0.7 -

Alcoholic beverages

332.010 - 334.704 6.9 0.8 -

Housing

428.071 - 432.954 5.7 1.1 -

Shelter

492.417 493.986 499.076 6.2 1.4 1.0

Rent of primary residence(2)

496.098 498.860 500.302 5.4 0.8 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

516.220 520.063 524.603 6.7 1.6 0.9

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

516.220 520.063 524.603 6.7 1.6 0.9

Fuels and utilities

355.403 - 356.495 7.9 0.3 -

Household energy

322.205 323.761 323.765 8.0 0.5 0.0

Energy services(2)

380.535 382.331 382.547 8.8 0.5 0.1

Electricity(2)

397.626 397.626 397.626 9.5 0.0 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

253.441 258.117 258.682 9.2 2.1 0.2

Household furnishings and operations

228.289 - 227.585 -0.6 -0.3 -

Apparel

140.461 - 136.219 2.3 -3.0 -

Transportation

306.383 - 296.001 -2.3 -3.4 -

Private transportation

321.348 - 316.235 -0.9 -1.6 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

125.293 - 124.849 -2.2 -0.4 -

New vehicles(1)

225.159 - 224.993 0.0 -0.1 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

410.204 - 399.902 -12.8 -2.5 -

Motor fuel

499.570 487.101 480.620 -14.8 -3.8 -1.3

Gasoline (all types)

509.617 496.833 490.184 -14.9 -3.8 -1.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

550.328 536.249 528.920 -15.4 -3.9 -1.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

406.769 397.441 392.508 -13.8 -3.5 -1.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

478.123 466.935 461.141 -13.1 -3.6 -1.2

Medical care

485.169 - 481.489 6.0 -0.8 -

Recreation(6)

121.857 - 122.355 0.8 0.4 -

Education and communication(6)

148.316 - - - - -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

- - - - - -

Other goods and services

537.253 - 537.446 3.5 0.0 -

Commodity and service group

All items

354.824 - 355.179 3.1 0.1 -

Commodities

243.958 - 242.711 -2.0 -0.5 -

Commodities less food & beverages

190.186 - 187.834 -3.9 -1.2 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

233.847 - 228.502 -3.2 -2.3 -

Durables

149.894 - 149.435 -4.5 -0.3 -

Services

458.104 - 459.875 6.0 0.4 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

349.239 - 349.824 3.0 0.2 -

All items less shelter

301.614 - 299.217 1.1 -0.8 -

Commodities less food

195.455 - 193.225 -3.4 -1.1 -

Nondurables

294.728 - 292.911 -0.7 -0.6 -

Nondurables less food

241.999 - 237.178 -2.2 -2.0 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

427.531 - 422.715 5.5 -1.1 -

Services less medical care services

451.662 - 453.461 5.9 0.4 -

Energy

421.686 416.478 413.325 -6.2 -2.0 -0.8

All items less energy

355.061 - 355.845 3.6 0.2 -

All items less food and energy

353.701 - 354.238 3.9 0.2 -

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2024