Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.3 percent for the 2 months ending in January 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the January decline was the largest bimonthly decrease since March 2020 and was due largely to a decline in the medical care index. The all items less food and energy index, which includes medical care, contributed the most to the decrease as it declined 0.5 percent, while the energy index was down 1.9 percent. These declines were offset by a 1.6-percent rise in the food index. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U index was up 4.4 percent, the smallest price increase since July 2021. The all items less food and energy index was mainly responsible as it rose 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices were up 6.5 percent over the year and the energy index increased 10.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.6 percent over the last 2 months, the same as the November bimonthly increase. Prices for food at home were also up 1.6 percent, while prices for food away from home increased 1.7 percent. Within the food at home category, prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 2.5 percent while cereals and bakery products prices were up 3.5 percent. Prices for eggs advanced over the 2-month period. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials prices increased 3.8 percent (this index has risen every January for the last 6 years) and the other food at home index increased 0.9 percent. The only grocery category to register a decrease was fruits and vegetables with a 0.4-percent decline, falling slightly after a 3.5-percent increase last November.

Over-the-year, food prices increased 6.5 percent; increases in 2022 ranged from 6.2 percent to 8.9 percent. The 7.6-percent increase for grocery prices was the smallest 12-month increase in the past year, down from the peak of 12.4 percent in July. Prices for food away from home were up 5.1 percent over the year (the same as last November). All grocery categories had price increases from a year ago but generally moderated from previous rates of increase. Prices for dairy and related products were up 16.2 percent, down from the series high of 18.8 percent in July; meats, poultry, fish, and eggs prices increased 7.0 percent and other food at home index had a 5.6-percent rise, well below the series high of 15.6 percent last July.  

Energy

In January, the energy index decreased 1.9 percent over the 2-month period due to a 6.5-percent decline in the gasoline index; the last time both indexes rose was July 2022. The utility (piped) gas index increased 9.5 percent and the electricity index registered no change.  

Energy prices continued to moderate, up 10.2 percent over the year, the smallest increase since March 2021. Prices across all energy components were up including electricity which rose 16.4 percent, continuing a trend of bimonthly increases ranging from 10.0 to 19.1 percent since May 2022. The utility (piped) gas service index was up 21.9 percent while gasoline prices increased 1.8 percent, down from the peak of 61.3 percent in June and the smallest change in the index in nearly 2 years.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.5 percent in the 2 months ended in January 2023, the first decline in the index since March 2020. This was mainly because of lower prices for medical care, down 6.7 percent, the largest 2-month decrease since the index began in 1998. A lower medical care services index was responsible for the decline. Prices for public transportation were down while the new and used motor vehicles index had a 0.7-percent decrease caused by lower prices for used cars and trucks (down 3.9 percent). Components of the all items less food and energy index that offset the decreases included shelter (up 0.5 percent), apparel (up 3.3 percent), and recreation (up 0.6 percent). Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent of residences increased 0.7 percent, rent of primary residence was up 1.0 percent, but lodging away from home declined.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.6 percent (the smallest increase since July 2021). This increase was primarily due to a 4.5-percent rise in the shelter index, as a component index, owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 4.4 percent; both were the highest rise since May 2007. Also in shelter, the index for rent of primary residence advanced 6.2 percent, the greatest increase since September 2002. All other main components of the all items less food and energy index were up over the year. Prices for new and used motor vehicles rose 4.5 percent, and the recreation index had a 3.6-percent increase. Within the new and used motor vehicle index, prices for used cars and trucks were down 11.3 percent, the largest drop since the series began in 2018.

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.5	0.8	0.5	1.6	0.7	1.5	0.9	6.0	-0.3	4.4
March	0.7	1.6	-0.4	0.4	0.7	2.6	1.9	7.3
May	0.6	1.6	0.1	-0.1	1.3	3.8	1.5	7.5
July	-0.3	1.2	0.6	0.8	1.2	4.4	1.1	7.5
September	0.1	0.9	0.6	1.2	0.7	4.5	-0.2	6.5
November	-0.2	1.5	0.0	1.4	1.2	5.8	0.3	5.6

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.

Technical Note

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, 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

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, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022
All items		300.085		299.149	4.4	-0.3
Food and beverages		295.475		300.246	6.4	1.6
Food		304.207		309.141	6.5	1.6
Food at home		287.522	289.262	292.227	7.6	1.6	1.0
Cereals and bakery products		375.761		388.780	8.0	3.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		317.415		325.326	7.0	2.5
Dairy and related products		291.525		295.614	16.2	1.4
Fruits and vegetables		299.901		298.774	5.2	-0.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		244.604		253.918	10.0	3.8
Other food at home		235.940		237.967	5.6	0.9
Food away from home		325.158		330.605	5.1	1.7
Alcoholic beverages		214.179		217.549	4.3	1.6
Housing		308.793		310.474	5.0	0.5
Shelter		365.269	366.830	367.096	4.5	0.5	0.1
Rent of primary residence		399.862	402.524	403.934	6.2	1.0	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		373.766	375.594	376.231	4.4	0.7	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		373.766	375.594	376.231	4.4	0.7	0.2
Fuels and utilities		285.436		290.883	15.3	1.9
Household energy		227.955	228.726	233.225	17.9	2.3	2.0
Energy services		231.228	232.427	237.199	17.9	2.6	2.1
Electricity		247.885	246.442	247.996	16.4	0.0	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service		185.037	191.135	202.561	21.9	9.5	6.0
Household furnishings and operations		128.019		128.072	2.1	0.0
Apparel		153.638		158.712	0.9	3.3
Transportation		262.753		256.886	5.4	-2.2
Private transportation		272.019		268.036	4.9	-1.5
New and used motor vehicles(3)		124.816		123.914	4.5	-0.7
New vehicles(1)		228.873		229.051	5.3	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		419.747		403.196	-11.3	-3.9
Motor fuel		341.784	310.448	319.274	2.3	-6.6	2.8
Gasoline (all types)		336.345	305.349	314.350	1.8	-6.5	2.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		328.645	297.622	306.838	1.5	-6.6	3.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		344.639	317.085	322.733	2.7	-6.4	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		358.386	331.746	338.201	4.2	-5.6	1.9
Medical care		541.610		505.570	0.3	-6.7
Recreation(3)		125.278		126.038	3.6	0.6
Education and communication(3)		163.136		163.522	1.3	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,590.079		1,585.466	5.3	-0.3
Other goods and services		487.977		489.667	3.3	0.3
Commodity and service group
Commodities		210.723		211.450	3.2	0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		168.495		167.723	1.3	-0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages		217.048		215.361	1.7	-0.8
Durables		121.826		121.585	0.9	-0.2
Services		379.675		377.196	5.1	-0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		273.152		271.098	4.2	-0.8
All items less medical care		288.656		289.501	4.7	0.3
Commodities less food		170.467		169.809	1.4	-0.4
Nondurables		255.260		256.691	4.3	0.6
Nondurables less food		216.227		214.925	1.9	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)		408.725		400.108	5.4	-2.1
Services less medical care services		362.893		364.183	5.8	0.4
Energy		283.575	271.610	278.054	10.2	-1.9	2.4
All items less energy		305.661		305.045	4.0	-0.2
All items less food and energy		307.154		305.582	3.6	-0.5
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.