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News Release Information

24-523-PHI
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson – February 2024

Area prices were up 1.7 percent over the past 2 months, up 2.6 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.7 percent for the 2 months ending in February 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted this was the largest bi-monthly increase since June 2022. The all items less food and energy index, up 1.8 percent, led the increase. The energy index (up 2.5 percent) and the food index (up 1.0 percent) also rose. (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 2.6 percent, mostly due to a 2.7-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index. The food index increased 1.9 percent and the energy index was up 2.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.0 percent for the 2 months ending in February 2024. The food away from home index increased 1.6 percent. The food at home index rose 0.5 percent due to higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 2.8 percent, mostly due to price increases for beef steaks) and other food at home (up 2.3 percent). All other grocery categories declined and tempered the overall increase. The dairy and related products index was down 3.2 percent, mostly due to price declines for cheese and related products.

Over the year, the food index rose 1.9 percent as prices for food away from home were up 4.2 percent. The food at home index increased 0.4 percent due to higher prices for other food at home, up 4.4 percent. The index for cereals and bakery products was unchanged over the year in February. All other grocery categories were down over the year, including prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, which declined 3.1 percent (the largest published decline since October 2021).

Energy

In the two months ending in February, the energy index increased 2.5 percent, preceded by two bi-monthly price declines. The February energy index increase was mainly due to rising prices for gasoline, up 3.8 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index advanced 12.6 percent and prices for electricity were up 0.5 percent.

From February 2023 to February 2024 the energy index gained 2.5 percent, the same as it did in the bi-monthly rise. The increase was largely due to a rise in prices for electricity, up 7.6 percent (the smallest published advance since August 2021). Offsetting the overall energy index rise was the utility (piped) gas service index, down 9.5 percent—moderating from a 21.0-percent decline in December.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent in the two months ending in February 2024, the largest increase since October 2021, reflecting increases throughout the categories within the index. The shelter index was up 1.3 percent—within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 1.1 percent. The apparel index rose 12.4 percent (the largest published bi-monthly increase since October 2018), the public transportation index was up, and the other goods and services index increased 4.5 percent (the largest published bi-monthly increase since 2008). Countering the rises were lower prices for new and used motor vehicles—down 1.4 percent—and, within new and used motor vehicles, used cars and trucks prices were down 3.1 percent while new vehicle prices increased 0.3 percent.  

Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.7 percent, led by a 4.9-percent increase in the shelter index and, within shelter, an equal rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index. The rent of primary residence index was up 6.3 percent. The rise in the other goods and services index was 8.1 percent. Within the medical care index (down 1.1 percent), prices for medical care commodities increased and prices for medical care services declined. Other indexes declined and tempered the overall index, including household furnishings and operations (down 4.1 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (down 1.9 percent).

Table A. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20202021202220232024
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.51.80.11.11.39.31.26.11.72.6

April

-0.10.11.82.91.69.10.75.3

June

-0.40.41.14.52.610.60.22.8

August

0.50.70.54.50.110.20.53.1

October

0.61.32.36.30.78.4-0.22.2

December

0.21.41.88.0-0.16.3-0.32.1

The April 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2024.


Technical Note

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, 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 5,000 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 categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Feb.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0
306.379 311.6652.61.7 

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF
329.541 332.6181.90.9 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF1
329.687 332.9601.91.0 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF11
292.696289.836294.2200.40.51.5

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF111
355.060352.112354.7330.0-0.10.7

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF112
295.366295.017303.496-0.42.82.9

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEFJ
283.004276.558273.842-2.8-3.2-1.0

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF113
327.227322.699322.779-0.2-1.40.0

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF114
221.943225.879218.795-3.1-1.4-3.1

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF115
271.210265.226277.3714.42.34.6

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEFV
380.543 386.6104.21.6 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF116
323.362 324.0023.40.2 

Housing(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH
310.417 314.7073.91.4 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH1
364.235365.584369.0964.91.31.0

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHA
423.139425.587427.3936.31.00.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHC
384.851385.877389.2514.91.10.9

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHC01
384.851385.877389.2514.91.10.9

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH2
311.183 314.4215.11.0 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH21
276.017279.008279.4054.51.20.1

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF
296.329299.622300.2685.51.30.2

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF01
280.395281.623281.6877.60.50.0

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF02
221.315243.100249.190-9.512.62.5

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH3
134.895 137.707-4.12.1 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAA
117.480 132.010-4.512.4 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAT
268.340 273.7691.82.0 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAT1
274.843 277.5481.21.0 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA
136.382 134.534-1.9-1.4 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA01
276.829 277.563-0.20.3 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA02
326.969 316.727-1.2-3.1 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETB
279.233274.081289.623-0.33.75.7

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETB01
272.095267.206282.419-0.23.85.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47014
274.361269.110285.196-0.43.96.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47015
298.168294.155307.0730.63.04.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47016
286.650283.472295.0141.52.94.1

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAM
495.950 503.122-1.11.4 

Recreation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAR
145.291 145.1632.5-0.1 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAE
161.884 164.8122.21.8 

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEEB
1,368.306 1,384.3385.21.2 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAG
520.672 543.9928.14.5 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAC
226.939 231.5380.72.0 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESACL11
181.566 186.6040.12.8 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESANL11
223.140 234.4772.05.1 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAD
132.816 133.083-2.10.2 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAS
384.026 389.9663.91.5 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L2
285.039 290.5551.41.9 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L5
296.957 302.1522.91.7 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESACL1
185.838 190.7620.22.6 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAN
272.042 279.4922.02.7 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESANL1
228.597 239.2312.04.7 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESASL2RS
419.085 426.6102.71.8 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESASL5
373.618 379.8905.01.7 

Energy(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0E
287.472286.457294.5162.52.52.8

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0LE
309.830 315.0132.61.7 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L1E
306.856 312.3582.71.8 

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024