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Starting in 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) moved away from comprehensive revisions implemented every ten years or so in favor of incremental updates implemented on an ongoing basis. For example, expenditure weight updates are now introduced every two years, and item structure changes occur whenever they are deemed appropriate given changes in the marketplace. One element of the CPI that has not seen more frequent revisions, however, is the geographic sample.
In January 2018, BLS will introduce a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The last time the sample was revised was in 1998. The new sample consists of 75 urban areas—large, medium, and small. There are 87 urban areas in the current sample.
The CPI geographic sample is selected to be representative of the demographics of the United States. The 2018 revision utilizes the 2010 Decennial Census and it incorporates an updated area sample design, changes the frequency of publication for several local area indexes, and establishes some new local area and aggregate indexes. It also introduces Census division-level indexes.
For the 2018 revision, primary sampling units (PSUs) are defined using Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) definitions. This is different from the previous definition of PSUs as metropolitan statistical areas.
Number of areas published | Number of areas published monthly | Number of areas published bimonthly | Number of areas published semi-annually | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Old design |
27 | 3 | 11 | 13 |
New design |
23 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
Riverside, CA, which was previously included in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA MSA, will now be its own CBSA, and will be considered a new index, starting at 100.000. The combined Washington-Baltimore index (one of the bimonthly indexes) will be discontinued. The Washington and Baltimore areas will be independent CBSAs. The new CBSAs for Washington and Baltimore will be considered continuous with the independent areas Washington (A312) and Baltimore (A313) under the old schedule. Existing indexes for A312 and A313, not previously published for January 1998-December 2017, will be published, with a footnote to indicate that indexes are based on a substantially smaller sample, and allowing the post-revision indexes to be continuous back to 1914.
Under the old design, indexes were published for Pittsburgh PA, Cincinnati-Hamilton OH-KY-IN, Cleveland-Akron OH, Milwaukee-Racine WI, and Portland-Salem OR-WA. Because they did not meet a population threshold, they will not be published under the new design. In addition, the index for Kansas City MO-KS will no longer be published because it was not selected as part of the sample.
New CBSA | Old MSA | New Publication | Old Publication | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | Schedule | Frequency | Schedule | ||
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
Atlanta, GA | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD |
Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD- VA-WV | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Odd months |
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH |
Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH- ME-CT | Bimonthly | Odd months | Bimonthly | Odd months |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | Bimonthly | Odd months | Bimonthly | Odd months |
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO | Bimonthly | Odd months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI | Bimonthly | Odd months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
Philadelphia-Wilmington- Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ | Bimonthly | Even months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA | Bimonthly | Odd months | Monthly | Monthly |
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
San Diego, CA | Bimonthly | Odd months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA | Bimonthly | Even months | Bimonthly | Even months |
St. Louis, MO-IL |
St. Louis, MO-IL | Bimonthly | Even months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | Bimonthly | Odd months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Urban Alaska |
Anchorage, AK | Bimonthly | Even months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Urban Hawaii |
Honolulu, HI | Bimonthly | Odd months | Semi-annual | Semi-annual |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD- VA-WV | Bimonthly | Odd months | Bimonthly | Odd months |
Two additional major changes with the new design are: (1) the number of size classes and (2) the publication of Census division-level indexes in addition to the current Census region-level indexes. Under the area redesign, the CPI now has two size classes, A and B/C (corresponding to population size greater than 2,500,000 for size class A and 2,500,000 or less for size class B/C), rather than the three size classes under the old design (A, B/C, and D, with population size of more than 1,500,000 for size class A, 50,000 to 1,500,000 for size class B/C, and less than 50,000 for size class D). The current size class B/C and size class D are consolidated in order to reduce small sample bias and to reduce the standard error of indexes.
Census regions are now split into divisions, three in the South and two each in the Northeast, Midwest, and West.
Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Divisions
|
New England | East North Central | South Atlantic | Mountain |
Middle Atlantic | West North Central | East South Central | Pacific | |
West South Central |
BLS will continue to publish monthly region-size class indexes for A-sized and B/C-sized cities in the four regions. Additional information is available in the Monthly Labor Review article The 2018 revision of the Consumer Price Index geographic sample.
The following items will be published at the region, division, and area level. Series for new areas will have a base period of December 2017=100; base periods for continuing areas will vary by area.
Item name | Item code |
---|---|
Cereal and bakery products |
SAF111 |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs |
SAF112 |
Dairy and related products |
SEFJ |
Fruits and vegetables |
SAF113 |
Nonalcoholic beverages |
SAF114 |
Other food at home |
SAF115 |
New and used motor vehicles |
SETA (1) |
New vehicles |
SETA01 (1) |
Used cars and trucks |
SETA02 (1) |
Motor vehicle insurance |
SETE |
Tuition, other school fees, and child care |
SEEB |
Last Modified Date: April 10, 2018