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Consumer Price Index
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Consumer Price Index > Publications > Factsheets

CPI series ID codes

Each CPI series has a unique code which can be used to pull data for that series from our online database. This series ID can be parsed by breaking down the characters within it into subcomponents. An example of this is shown in table 1, using the CPI-U U.S. city average series for all items.

Table 1, Deconstructing CPI a series ID code
Character positions Example (CUUR0000SA0) Explanation Possible values

1-2

 CU Index type

CU (CPI-U), CW (CPI-W), SU (C-CPI-U)

MU (discontinued CPI-U), MW (discontinued CPI-W)

3

 U Seasonal adjustment status U (unadjusted/not seasonally adjusted), S (seasonally adjusted)

4

 R Periodicity R (regular publication), S (semi-annual)

5-8

 0000 Area code More information is available in the area code list and the 2018 geographic revision page

10+

 SA0 Item code More information is available in the item code list, the item aggregation page, and the CPI Handbook of Methods Appendix 2: Content of CPI Entry Level Items

So, in our example, the series ID CUUR0000SA0 refers to a CPI-U series (CU) which is not seasonally adjusted (U), subject to regular (in this case monthly) publication (R), for the U.S. city average (0000), for all items (SA0).

Once you know the ID of the CPI series you wish to pull data for, you can use the series report tool or the BLS Public Data API to do so.

Last modified date: March 10, 2023