Prices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.0 percent for the 2 months ending in April 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted the increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and gasoline, both of which are index sub-components. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.7 percent while the energy index increased 6.0 percent. The food index advanced 0.5 percent in the same period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.) (See table A.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.9 percent, mostly due to a 2.8-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index increased 5.6 percent and the food index was up 2.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, April 2021–April 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Apr 2021	2.9	2.5
Jun 2021	4.5	4.0
Aug 2021	4.5	3.5
Oct 2021	6.3	5.3
Dec 2021	8.0	6.5
Feb 2022	9.3	7.6
Apr 2022	9.1	7.1
Jun 2022	10.6	7.9
Aug 2022	10.2	8.8
Oct 2022	8.4	7.0
Dec 2022	6.3	5.6
Feb 2023	6.1	5.8
Apr 2023	5.3	5.4
Jun 2023	2.8	4.2
Aug 2023	3.1	3.1
Oct 2023	2.2	2.4
Dec 2023	2.1	2.0
Feb 2024	2.6	2.7
Apr 2024	2.9	2.8

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the 2 months ending in April 2024. The food away from home index increased 0.6 percent. The food at home index rose 0.3 percent due to higher prices for fruits and vegetables (up 1.6 percent), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 1.5 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 0.4 percent). Tempering the food index increase were declines in other food at home prices (down 0.7 percent) and dairy and related products (down 0.6 percent).

Over the year, the food index rose 2.2 percent as prices for food away from home were up 3.6 percent. The food at home index increased 1.2 percent due to higher prices for fruits and vegetables (up 4.1 percent – the largest increase since October 2022), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 2.3 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 1.9 percent). In the same period, prices for dairy and related products and other food at home declined -3.1 percent and -0.2 percent respectively.

In the two months ending in April, the energy index increased 6.0 percent. The April energy index increase was mainly due to rising prices for gasoline, up 11.5 percent, marking the largest bi-monthly increase since June 2022. The electricity index advanced 1.8 percent while prices for utility (piped) gas service were down 4.5 percent.

From April 2023 to April 2024 the energy index gained 5.6 percent. The increase was largely due to a rise in prices for gasoline, up 4.0 percent. Contributing to the overall energy index rise was the utility (piped) gas service index, up 19.0 percent (the first index increase since the first quarter of 2023) and the electricity index, up 5.5 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in the two months ending in April 2024, reflecting increases throughout the categories within the index. The shelter index was up 0.4 percent—within shelter, rent of primary residence increased 0.2 percent, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 0.1 percent, and lodging away from home prices also rose. The new and used motor vehicles index contributed to the rise (up 0.9 percent) as prices for used cars and trucks increased 0.4 percent. The medical care index increased 0.6 percent due to increasing prices for medical care services. Countering the rises were lower prices for household furnishings and operations (down 1.7 percent), education and communication (down 0.6 percent) and apparel (down 0.9 percent).  

Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.8 percent, led by a 4.6-percent increase in the shelter index and, within shelter, a 4.4 percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and a 4.9 percent rise in the rent of primary residence index. The rise in the other goods and services index was 7.0 percent. Within the new and used motor vehicles index (down 2.9 percent), prices for used cars and trucks declined 6.0 percent while new vehicle prices decreased 1.3 percent. Other indexes declined and tempered the overall index, including household furnishings and operations (down 5.3 percent) and medical care (down 2.1 percent).

The June 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 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 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties, as well as Baltimore City, in Maryland.

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, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	Apr. 2023	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024
All items		311.665		314.927	2.9	1.0
Food and beverages		332.618		334.322	2.2	0.5
Food		332.960		334.533	2.2	0.5
Food at home		294.220	288.536	295.231	1.2	0.3	2.3
Cereals and bakery products		354.733	358.599	356.107	0.6	0.4	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		303.496	287.512	304.794	1.9	0.4	6.0
Dairy and related products		273.842	268.420	272.168	-3.1	-0.6	1.4
Fruits and vegetables		322.779	314.923	327.954	4.1	1.6	4.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		218.795	220.021	222.027	2.3	1.5	0.9
Other food at home		277.371	273.661	275.533	-0.2	-0.7	0.7
Food away from home		386.610		389.064	3.6	0.6
Alcoholic beverages		324.002		327.278	3.4	1.0
Housing(1)		314.707		315.437	3.6	0.2
Shelter		369.096	368.568	370.629	4.6	0.4	0.6
Rent of primary residence		427.393	426.604	428.090	4.9	0.2	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		389.251	388.959	389.615	4.4	0.1	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		389.251	388.959	389.615	4.4	0.1	0.2
Fuels and utilities		314.421		316.699	6.1	0.7
Household energy		279.405	283.254	281.950	5.9	0.9	-0.5
Energy services		300.268	304.587	304.068	6.5	1.3	-0.2
Electricity		281.687	286.139	286.657	5.5	1.8	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service		249.190	248.676	237.953	19.0	-4.5	-4.3
Household furnishings and operations		137.707		135.372	-5.3	-1.7
Apparel		132.010		130.783	-2.3	-0.9
Transportation		273.769		288.677	5.0	5.4
Private transportation		277.548		294.092	4.9	6.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		134.534		135.678	-2.9	0.9
New vehicles(1)		277.563		276.662	-1.3	-0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)		316.727		317.998	-6.0	0.4
Motor fuel		289.623	302.487	321.875	3.9	11.1	6.4
Gasoline (all types)		282.419	295.325	314.762	4.0	11.5	6.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		285.196	298.657	318.877	3.9	11.8	6.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		307.073	319.423	337.972	4.5	10.1	5.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		295.014	305.911	322.709	5.4	9.4	5.5
Medical care		503.122		506.083	-2.1	0.6
Recreation		145.163		145.806	2.8	0.4
Education and communication(3)		164.812		163.859	2.7	-0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,384.338		1,384.338	5.2	0.0
Other goods and services		543.992		546.212	7.0	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		231.538		233.808	0.7	1.0
Commodities less food and beverages		186.604		189.021	0.1	1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		234.477		239.859	2.4	2.3
Durables		133.083		133.249	-2.9	0.1
Services		389.966		394.200	4.4	1.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		290.555		294.577	2.1	1.4
All items less medical care		302.152		305.436	3.3	1.1
Commodities less food		190.762		193.208	0.2	1.3
Nondurables		279.492		283.142	2.4	1.3
Nondurables less food		239.231		244.465	2.4	2.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)		426.610		434.756	4.2	1.9
Services less medical care services		379.890		383.710	5.4	1.0
Energy(1)		294.516	303.056	312.155	5.6	6.0	3.0
All items less energy		315.013		317.180	2.7	0.7
All items less food and energy		312.358		314.623	2.8	0.7
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a March 1978=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.