Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.3 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the September increase was primarily due to a 0.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index which was driven largely by increasing prices for shelter and a 0.4-percent increase in the food index. The energy index rose 0.5 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Northeast all items CPI-U index increased 3.0 percent. The September increase was mainly due to a 3.5-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index which was led by increases within the shelter index. This is the seventh consecutive month that the 12-month change in the all items index has been lower than the all items less food and energy index. (See chart 1.) The food index continued moderating, rising 3.6 percent which was the smallest price increase in 2023 so far, as the pace of increases has lessened every month. The energy index decreased 3.4 percent, trending down for the seventh consecutive month. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Sep 2020	1.2	1.5
Oct 2020	1.1	1.5
Nov 2020	1.1	1.5
Dec 2020	1.4	1.6
Jan 2021	1.1	1.1
Feb 2021	1.2	0.8
Mar 2021	2.1	1.3
Apr 2021	3.3	2.5
May 2021	3.9	3.0
Jun 2021	4.6	3.9
Jul 2021	4.3	3.5
Aug 2021	4.4	3.2
Sep 2021	4.6	3.2
Oct 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.0	4.1
Dec 2021	5.9	4.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.6
Feb 2022	6.6	5.0
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3
Jun 2023	2.2	3.8
Jul 2023	2.6	4.0
Aug 2023	2.8	3.7
Sep 2023	3.0	3.5

In September, the food index was up 0.4 percent as prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent due to most grocery category prices increasing. (See table 1.) The food away from home index increased 0.4 percent over the month. The groceries with higher prices included fruits and vegetables (up 1.1 percent); dairy and related products (up 1.6 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 0.5 percent); and other food at home (up 0.1 percent). The only categories to decrease were nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (down 0.9) and cereals and bakery products (down 0.3 percent).

From September 2022 to September 2023, food prices continued to moderate for the ninth consecutive month as the index increased 3.6 percent, down from the 4.0-percent rise in August. The food away from home index increased 6.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 2.3 percent, the lowest rise in 2 years. The other food at home index rose 3.7 percent, cereals and bakery products were up 5.6 percent (the smallest rise since January 2022), and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 5.0 percent. Prices for dairy and related products increased 1.8 percent while fruit and vegetable prices increased 0.1 percent in the same period. The only grocery category to decrease was meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 0.7 percent)—the fifth consecutive month of price decreases.

The energy index advanced 0.5 percent in September, after rising 3.0 percent in August. The increase was driven by higher fuel oil prices and a 0.2 percent increase in prices for gasoline. The electricity and utility (piped) gas service indexes fell 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively—partially offsetting the overall energy index price rise.

Over the year, energy prices were down 3.4 percent, continuing the trend of price decreases since March, as some of the index components declined. The utility (piped) gas service index was down 23.1 percent—the largest decline in that index since October 2009. Fuel oil prices also decreased. Prices for gasoline increased 2.3 percent, reversing a 7-month trend of consecutive price decreases that started in February. The electricity index increased, up 1.1 percent, with the 1.1 percent gain in August still the smallest increase since May 2020.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in September. The September rise was mainly due to a 0.7-percent rise in the shelter index, and within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences and rent of primary residence indexes were both up 0.7 percent while lodging away from home prices increased as well. New and used motor vehicle prices decreased 1.9 percent–the largest price decrease since November 2022. The decrease was driven by falling prices for used cars and trucks (down 5.0 percent), marking the biggest price decrease since this index started in 1978. Medical care prices fell 0.4 percent due to medical care commodities and medical care services decreasing 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Other categories also increased and contributed to the overall rise including education and communication (up 0.5 percent), and apparel (up 1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.5 percent. Like the monthly increase, this was primarily due to the shelter index (up 6.6 percent, after last month’s 6.4-percent increase); within that index, both the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and the rent of primary residence index also increased 6.7 percent. The index for lodging away from home was up in the same period. Other goods and services, and education and communication both increased as well, up 4.8 and 1.4 percent, respectively. The medical care index tempered the overall rise, declining 4.6 percent as prices for medical care services decreased 6.0 percent; both indexes continued to have larger 12-month decreases since March 2023.

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division increased 0.3 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division increased 0.2 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 3.2 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 2.5 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The October 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on November 14, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is published 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The New England division is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlantic division is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023	Sep. 2023	Sep. 2022	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023
All items		313.952	315.441	316.373	3.0	0.8	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		494.379	496.723	498.191
Food and beverages		323.002	323.245	324.377	3.6	0.4	0.4
Food		325.081	325.432	326.593	3.6	0.5	0.4
Food at home		306.205	305.792	306.771	2.3	0.2	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		387.713	387.495	386.251	5.6	-0.4	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		303.874	306.112	307.700	-0.7	1.3	0.5
Dairy and related products		281.156	277.180	281.719	1.8	0.2	1.6
Fruits and vegetables		356.495	352.615	356.376	0.1	0.0	1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		215.115	216.826	214.879	5.0	-0.1	-0.9
Other food at home		279.691	279.270	279.541	3.7	-0.1	0.1
Food away from home		357.255	359.368	360.909	6.0	1.0	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		294.274	293.065	293.809	3.3	-0.2	0.3
Housing		335.321	337.346	339.281	4.6	1.2	0.6
Shelter		411.594	413.698	416.575	6.6	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence		414.384	416.497	419.414	6.7	1.2	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		426.355	428.680	431.564	6.7	1.2	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		425.968	428.290	431.179	6.7	1.2	0.7
Fuels and utilities		284.664	288.771	290.749	-5.3	2.1	0.7
Household energy		252.760	257.022	259.094	-7.0	2.5	0.8
Energy services		248.947	249.752	248.919	-7.5	0.0	-0.3
Electricity		263.933	264.393	263.300	1.1	-0.2	-0.4
Utility (piped) gas service		203.018	204.401	204.109	-23.1	0.5	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations		143.680	144.347	143.691	1.5	0.0	-0.5
Apparel		132.144	135.581	136.951	2.6	3.6	1.0
Transportation		261.486	264.568	263.247	2.9	0.7	-0.5
Private transportation		261.015	264.688	263.044	3.6	0.8	-0.6
New and used motor vehicles(2)		129.791	129.859	127.377	-0.6	-1.9	-1.9
New vehicles		175.216	175.463	175.567	2.9	0.2	0.1
New cars(3)		165.736	165.847	165.544	2.2	-0.1	-0.2
Used cars and trucks		212.904	209.769	199.216	-7.7	-6.4	-5.0
Motor fuel		307.015	321.648	322.306	1.9	5.0	0.2
Gasoline (all types)		306.693	321.226	321.733	2.3	4.9	0.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		302.193	316.923	317.127	2.4	4.9	0.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		331.346	345.465	347.644	1.2	4.9	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		326.210	339.051	341.418	2.1	4.7	0.7
Medical care		559.936	558.709	556.263	-4.6	-0.7	-0.4
Medical care commodities		402.552	401.465	400.240	2.8	-0.6	-0.3
Medical care services		606.070	604.804	601.994	-6.0	-0.7	-0.5
Professional services		434.158	434.702	435.698	0.9	0.4	0.2
Recreation(2)		140.109	139.616	139.950	2.2	-0.1	0.2
Education and communication(2)		154.643	154.896	155.620	1.4	0.6	0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,398.129	1,405.852	1,420.287	3.7	1.6	1.0
Other goods and services		594.572	589.401	593.468	4.8	-0.2	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities		228.467	230.106	230.373	1.6	0.8	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		179.052	181.180	181.083	0.4	1.1	-0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		227.978	233.594	235.428	2.2	3.3	0.8
Durables		124.000	123.602	122.274	-1.9	-1.4	-1.1
Services		396.085	397.440	399.003	3.8	0.7	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		280.106	281.376	281.577	1.1	0.5	0.1
All items less medical care		303.152	304.768	305.855	3.7	0.9	0.4
Commodities less food		183.289	185.339	185.264	0.5	1.1	0.0
Nondurables		274.916	277.912	279.405	2.9	1.6	0.5
Nondurables less food		231.861	237.051	238.817	2.3	3.0	0.7
Services less rent of shelter(1)		391.995	392.506	392.569	0.6	0.1	0.0
Services less medical care services		381.607	383.146	385.015	5.0	0.9	0.5
Energy		275.009	283.238	284.786	-3.4	3.6	0.5
All items less energy		321.454	322.378	323.269	3.5	0.6	0.3
All items less food and energy		322.857	323.888	324.736	3.5	0.6	0.3
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.