Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.3 percent for the 2 months ending in September 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the September increase was due in large part to rising prices for shelter, as well as education and communication. The all items less food and energy index, which includes the forementioned categories, contributed the most to the overall rise as it advanced 1.3 percent. For the same period, the food index and energy index increased, up 1.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. (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 rose 3.3 percent. The all items less food and energy index was mainly responsible for the total increase as it rose 3.6 percent. (See chart 1.) Food prices were up 4.2 percent over the year, whereas the energy index declined 1.4 percent, tempering the overall all items index change, largely due to lower natural gas prices. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, September 2020–September 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Sep 2020	1.2	0.9
Nov 2020	1.4	1.4
Jan 2021	1.5	1.3
Mar 2021	2.6	2.0
May 2021	3.8	3.2
Jul 2021	4.4	3.6
Sep 2021	4.5	3.7
Nov 2021	5.8	4.4
Jan 2022	6.0	4.8
Mar 2022	7.3	6.0
May 2022	7.5	5.7
Jul 2022	7.5	5.6
Sep 2022	6.5	5.6
Nov 2022	5.6	4.9
Jan 2023	4.4	3.6
Mar 2023	3.7	4.0
May 2023	3.1	3.9
Jul 2023	1.8	2.9
Sep 2023	3.3	3.6

Over the last 2 months, the food index increased 1.3 percent. Prices for food at home were up 1.5 percent—ending a trend of declines since March 2023. Within the food at home category, cereals and bakery products prices rose 5.5 percent, the largest price increase since May 2020. Most grocery categories had rising prices, such as other food at home (+1.1 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+2.5 percent); and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs prices were up (+0.9 percent) after months of declining prices that began in March. Dairy and related products prices reported no change. For the same period, food away from home advanced 1.0 percent.

From September 2022 to September 2023, food prices increased 4.2 percent as both food away from home and food at home increased, up 6.6 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. Rising prices in other food at home (+5.1 percent), and cereals and bakery products (+7.8 percent) led the overall advance. The indexes for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+9.2 percent); and fruits and vegetables (+2.0 percent) also rose. The increase in food at home prices was offset by 2.8 percent drops in the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index as well as the dairy and related products index–the largest bi-monthly price decrease for dairy and related products since July 2021.

The energy index rose 1.6 percent for the 2 months ending in September. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+3.7 percent). The electricity index advanced 4.0 percent, while the index for natural gas service declined 14.3 percent in the same period.

Energy prices fell 1.4 percent over the year, the smallest price decline for this index since September 2019. The decrease was largely due to a drop in the index for natural gas service (-27.1 percent), the largest such decrease since September 2018. The electricity index rose 5.3 percent and prices for gasoline increased 1.8 percent during the past year – reversing a bi-monthly trend of consecutive over-the-year gasoline price decreases that started in March.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.3 percent in the latest 2-month period. Higher prices for shelter (+1.6 percent) and education and communication (+2.4 percent), led the overall index rise. Within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index increased (+1.0 percent) as did rent of primary residence (+ 0.6 percent). Other higher prices included lodging away from home; tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+ 4.6 percent); apparel (+ 3.6 percent); and household furnishings and operations (+1.0 percent). The overall index increase was partly offset by no changes in the medical care index, and declining prices for used cars and trucks (-6.5 percent) and public transportation.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.6 percent—continuing the trend of 12-month percent changes being higher than the all items index since March. The September rise was primarily due to a 6.2-percent rise in the shelter index, as owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 6.1 percent and the index for rent of primary residence advanced 4.5 percent. Other components contributing to the increase in all items less food and energy included tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+7.7 percent); other goods and services (+6.4 percent); and apparel (+4.7 percent). Moderating the rise in the overall index was medical care, down 5.2 percent, the largest over-the-year decline in the history of the series.

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

The Consumer Price Index for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is published bi-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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-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	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023	Sep. 2023	Sep. 2022	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023
All items		305.273		309.254	3.3	1.3
Food and beverages		299.058		302.693	4.1	1.2
Food		307.701		311.741	4.2	1.3
Food at home		287.050	287.580	291.427	2.7	1.5	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		376.565	382.128	397.125	7.8	5.5	3.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		303.320	305.544	305.931	-2.8	0.9	0.1
Dairy and related products		283.369	279.273	283.456	-2.8	0.0	1.5
Fruits and vegetables		294.938	293.045	295.596	2.0	0.2	0.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		253.452	256.185	259.741	9.2	2.5	1.4
Other food at home		245.883	245.479	248.559	5.1	1.1	1.3
Food away from home		336.250		339.519	6.6	1.0
Alcoholic beverages		219.764		218.194	2.4	-0.7
Housing		318.084		322.477	4.8	1.4
Shelter		377.786	380.334	383.752	6.2	1.6	0.9
Rent of primary residence		407.067	407.924	409.575	4.5	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		387.742	389.366	391.688	6.1	1.0	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		387.742	389.366	391.688	6.1	1.0	0.6
Fuels and utilities		288.636		287.956	-2.3	-0.2
Household energy		229.662	225.787	228.632	-4.5	-0.4	1.3
Energy services		235.512	231.295	234.299	-4.0	-0.5	1.3
Electricity		255.841	259.364	266.165	5.3	4.0	2.6
Utility (piped) gas service		180.559	159.990	154.724	-27.1	-14.3	-3.3
Household furnishings and operations		129.812		131.153	1.2	1.0
Apparel		162.179		168.054	4.7	3.6
Transportation		269.264		273.063	4.0	1.4
Private transportation		281.504		286.478	5.3	1.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)		128.387		129.129	2.5	0.6
New vehicles(1)		231.770		231.812	1.5	0.0
Used cars and trucks(1)		435.131		406.878	-7.8	-6.5
Motor fuel		337.595	358.278	350.434	1.9	3.8	-2.2
Gasoline (all types)		333.051	353.368	345.534	1.8	3.7	-2.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		325.476	345.839	337.687	1.9	3.8	-2.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		339.680	358.068	352.819	1.0	3.9	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		355.333	373.013	368.485	1.7	3.7	-1.2
Medical care		515.598		515.793	-5.2	0.0
Recreation(3)		125.310		126.038	0.6	0.6
Education and communication(3)		164.930		168.818	3.2	2.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,608.740		1,683.394	7.7	4.6
Other goods and services		502.878		506.082	6.4	0.6
Commodity and service group
Commodities		213.467		215.362	1.8	0.9
Commodities less food and beverages		170.927		172.057	0.5	0.7
Nondurables less food and beverages		221.599		225.635	2.2	1.8
Durables		122.727		122.110	-1.2	-0.5
Services		387.196		393.119	4.2	1.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		275.278		278.419	1.8	1.1
All items less medical care		295.444		299.629	4.2	1.4
Commodities less food		173.004		174.071	0.6	0.6
Nondurables		259.155		262.963	3.1	1.5
Nondurables less food		220.895		224.568	2.3	1.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)		409.367		415.522	1.8	1.5
Services less medical care services		374.606		380.995	5.8	1.7
Energy		283.204	289.111	287.748	-1.4	1.6	-0.5
All items less energy		311.324		315.330	3.6	1.3
All items less food and energy		313.219		317.235	3.6	1.3
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.