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Consumer Price Index

Consumer Price Indexes Overview

Data available

  • Price indexes are available for the U.S., the four Census regions, nine Census divisions, two size of city classes, eight cross-classifications of regions and size-classes, and for 23 local areas. Indexes are available for major groups of consumer expenditures (food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communications, and other goods and services), for items within each group, and for special categories, such as services.
  • Monthly indexes are available for the U.S., the four Census regions, the nine Census divisions, and some local areas. More detailed item indexes are available for the U.S. than for regions, divisions, and local areas.
  • Indexes are available for two population groups: a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers over 90 percent of the total population and a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 30 percent of the population.
  • Some series, such as the U.S. City Average all items index, begin as early as 1913.

Coverage

  • The CPI represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. User fees (such as water and sewer service) and sales and excise taxes paid by the consumer are also included. Income taxes and investment items (like stocks, bonds, and life insurance) are not included.
  • The CPI-U includes expenditures by urban wage earners and clerical workers, professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, retirees and others not in the labor force. The CPI-W includes only expenditures by those in hourly wage earning or clerical jobs.

Sources of data

  • Prices for the goods and services used to calculate the CPI are collected in 75 urban areas throughout the country and from about 23,000 retail and service establishments. Data on rents are collected from about 50,000 landlords or tenants.
  • The weight for an item is derived from reported expenditures on that item as estimated by the Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Reference period

  • Prices are taken throughout the month.

Forms of publication

Uses

  • As an economic indicator. As the most widely used measure of inflation, the CPI is an indicator of the effectiveness of government policy. In addition, business executives, labor leaders and other private citizens use the index as a guide in making economic decisions.
  • As a deflator of other economic series. The CPI and its components are used to adjust other economic series for price change and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars.
  • As a means for adjusting dollar values. The CPI is often used to adjust consumers' income payments (for example, Social Security), to adjust income eligibility levels for government assistance, and to automatically provide cost-of-living wage adjustments to millions of American workers. The index affects the income of more than 108 million people because of statutory action: over 67 million Social Security beneficiaries and over 41 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients (formerly food stamps), among other programs.
    Another example of how dollar values may be adjusted is the use of the CPI to adjust the Federal income tax structure. These adjustments prevent inflation-induced increases in tax rates. In addition, eligibility criteria for millions of food stamp recipients, and children who eat lunch at school are affected by changes in the CPI. Some private firms and individuals use the CPI to keep rents, royalties, alimony payments and child support payments in line with changing prices. Many collective bargaining agreements also tie wage increases to the CPI.

 

Last Modified Date: September 9, 2024