Prices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.3 percent for the 2 months ending in June 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted the increase was influenced by higher prices for medical care and shelter, both of which are index sub-components. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.5 percent while the energy index decreased 1.7 percent. The food index declined 0.1 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 3.0 percent, mostly due to a 2.9-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index increased 5.7 percent and the food index was up 2.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food prices decreased 0.1 percent for the 2 months ending in June 2024. The food at home index fell 0.9 percent due to lower prices for fruits and vegetables (down 4.1 percent, the largest decrease in over a year), meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 1.3 percent), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (down 1.1 percent) and other food at home (down 0.5 percent). Offsetting the food index decline were increases in cereals and bakery products (up 2.5 percent) and dairy and related products (up 0.5 percent). The food away from home index increased 0.8 percent.

Over the year, the food index rose 2.9 percent as prices for food away from home were up 4.3 percent. The food at home index increased 1.7 percent due to higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 3.7 percent – the largest increase since February 2023), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 2.5 percent), cereals and bakery products (up 2.4 percent) and fruits and vegetables (up 1.4 percent). In the same period, prices for dairy and related products and other food at home declined -0.5 percent and -0.2 percent respectively.

In the two months ending in June, the energy index decreased 1.7 percent. The energy index decline was mainly due to falling prices for gasoline (down 3.1 percent) and electricity (down 0.6 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service were up 3.0 percent.

From June 2023 to June 2024 the energy index advanced 5.7 percent. The electricity index rose 5.3 percent and the gasoline index increased 3.4 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index increased 23.6 percent (the largest index rise since the first quarter of 2023).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in the two months ending in June 2024, reflecting increases throughout the categories within the index. The medical care index increased 2.6 percent (the largest increase since December 2022) due to increasing prices for medical care commodities and medical care services. The shelter index was up 0.5 percent—within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 0.7 percent and the rent of primary residence index also increased, up 1.0 percent. The recreation index rose 2.1 percent. The household furnishings and operations index increased 0.8 percent in the same period. Countering the rises were lower prices for apparel (down 4.3 percent) and education and communication (down 1.3 percent).

Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.9 percent, led by a 4.6-percent increase in the shelter index and, within shelter, a 4.6-percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and a 5.2-percent rise in the rent of primary residence index. Also contributing to the increase were the recreation index and the other goods and services index, increasing 4.8 and 5.2 percent respectively. Tempering the all items less food and energy index rise was the new and used motor vehicles index (down 3.9 percent), as prices for used cars and trucks declined 9.2 percent (continuing the trend of price decreases that started in December 2022) and new vehicle prices decreased 1.4 percent. Household furnishings and operations declined 4.4 percent.

The August 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on September 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	Apr. 2024	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jun. 2023	Apr. 2024	May 2024
All items		314.927		315.803	3.0	0.3
Food and beverages		334.322		334.049	2.8	-0.1
Food		334.533		334.159	2.9	-0.1
Food at home		295.231	289.940	292.657	1.7	-0.9	0.9
Cereals and bakery products		356.107	352.924	365.112	2.4	2.5	3.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		304.794	290.832	300.933	3.7	-1.3	3.5
Dairy and related products		272.168	277.314	273.598	-0.5	0.5	-1.3
Fruits and vegetables		327.954	317.589	314.466	1.4	-4.1	-1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		222.027	224.895	219.612	2.5	-1.1	-2.3
Other food at home		275.533	271.334	274.050	-0.2	-0.5	1.0
Food away from home		389.064		392.346	4.3	0.8
Alcoholic beverages		327.278		328.259	1.3	0.3
Housing(1)		315.437		316.917	3.8	0.5
Shelter		370.629	371.250	372.445	4.6	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence		428.090	429.751	432.195	5.2	1.0	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		389.615	391.368	392.457	4.6	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		389.615	391.368	392.457	4.6	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities		316.699		316.362	6.8	-0.1
Household energy		281.950	281.695	281.658	7.0	-0.1	0.0
Energy services		304.068	303.306	303.164	6.6	-0.3	0.0
Electricity		286.657	286.016	285.039	5.3	-0.6	-0.3
Utility (piped) gas service		237.953	236.575	245.092	23.6	3.0	3.6
Household furnishings and operations		135.372		136.513	-4.4	0.8
Apparel		130.783		125.101	-4.6	-4.3
Transportation		288.677		287.335	4.2	-0.5
Private transportation		294.092		295.097	4.7	0.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		135.678		135.754	-3.9	0.1
New vehicles(1)		276.662		277.262	-1.4	0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		317.998		320.483	-9.2	0.8
Motor fuel		321.875	316.744	311.588	3.2	-3.2	-1.6
Gasoline (all types)		314.762	309.853	304.930	3.4	-3.1	-1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		318.877	313.622	308.388	3.2	-3.3	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		337.972	334.822	330.862	4.2	-2.1	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		322.709	319.246	315.633	4.9	-2.2	-1.1
Medical care		506.083		519.018	0.4	2.6
Recreation		145.806		148.877	4.8	2.1
Education and communication(3)		163.859		161.705	0.7	-1.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,384.338		1,384.338	5.2	0.0
Other goods and services		546.212		548.164	5.2	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		233.808		232.177	-0.1	-0.7
Commodities less food and beverages		189.021		186.925	-1.4	-1.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		239.859		236.579	1.5	-1.4
Durables		133.249		132.183	-4.6	-0.8
Services		394.200		397.583	5.1	0.9
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		294.577		295.067	2.3	0.2
All items less medical care		305.436		305.681	3.2	0.1
Commodities less food		193.208		191.193	-1.3	-1.0
Nondurables		283.142		281.274	2.3	-0.7
Nondurables less food		244.465		241.460	1.4	-1.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)		434.756		440.457	5.6	1.3
Services less medical care services		383.710		386.400	5.8	0.7
Energy(1)		312.155	309.429	306.805	5.7	-1.7	-0.8
All items less energy		317.180		318.546	2.8	0.4
All items less food and energy		314.623		316.276	2.9	0.5
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.