Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were up 0.6 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted this was the largest monthly increase in the Northeast all items index since January 2023 and followed three consecutive months of the index remaining unchanged. The rise was mainly due to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (up 0.6 percent). The food index and the energy index were also up over the month, 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Northeast all items CPI-U index increased 2.5 percent. (See chart 1.) The January advance was primarily due to a 3.5-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, which was led by increases within the shelter index. The food index rose 2.4 percent, mostly due to increased prices for food away from home. The energy index decreased 7.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.) 

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, January 2021–January 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jan 2021	1.1	1.1
Feb 2021	1.2	0.8
Mar 2021	2.1	1.3
Apr 2021	3.3	2.5
May 2021	3.9	3.0
Jun 2021	4.6	3.9
Jul 2021	4.3	3.5
Aug 2021	4.4	3.2
Sep 2021	4.6	3.2
Oct 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.0	4.1
Dec 2021	5.9	4.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.6
Feb 2022	6.6	5.0
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3
Jun 2023	2.2	3.8
Jul 2023	2.6	4.0
Aug 2023	2.8	3.7
Sep 2023	3.0	3.5
Oct 2023	2.7	3.4
Nov 2023	2.5	3.5
Dec 2023	2.6	3.5
Jan 2024	2.5	3.5

In January, the food index increased 0.8 percent over the month as the food at home index advanced 1.1 percent (similar to increases in both indexes in January 2023). (See table 1.)  All grocery categories were up over the month. The 1.5-percent rise in prices for fruits and vegetables and the 1.3-percent increase in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs prices (the largest increase since May 2022) mainly drove the advance. The nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index was up 1.6 percent over the month, led by higher prices for carbonated drinks. The food away from home index rose 0.4 percent.

From January 2023 to January 2024, the food index increased 2.4 percent as the food away from home index advanced 5.1 percent (down slightly from a 5.3-percent rise in December). Prices for food at home were up 1.1 percent, led by nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 3.3 percent; the smallest increase since September 2021) and cereals and bakery products (up 2.7 percent). The other food at home index rose 1.0 percent (the smallest increase since June 2021) and fruits and vegetables were up 1.2 percent. Two grocery categories declined over the year—meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 0.7 percent) and dairy and related products (down 0.4 percent).

The energy index increased 0.6 percent over the month, driven primarily by a 5.5-percent rise in the electricity index. The utility (piped) gas service index was up 1.6 percent. The increases were partially offset by a 3.5-percent decline in the gasoline index.

Over the year, energy prices were down 7.3 percent as all energy components declined. The January decrease was driven by lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (down 16.5 percent, slightly moderating from the 18.3-percent decline in December). The gasoline index was down 5.4 percent, fuel oil decreased, and electricity declined 2.2 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.6 percent in January (the largest increase since February 2023), primarily due to an equivalent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, a 0.4-percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index led the increase. Prices for lodging away from home were also up and the rent of primary residence index rose 0.3 percent. The medical care index advanced 1.8 percent as medical care services rose by the same percentage, the largest increase in both indexes since they began in January 1987. A 2.2-percent increase in the apparel index also contributed to the overall all items less food and energy rise. Tempering the overall increase, new and used motor vehicle prices were down 0.4 percent as prices for used cars and trucks declined 3.8 percent. The recreation index also declined, down 0.8 percent (the largest decline in the index since January 2021).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.5 percent, the same as it was in the prior two months. This was primarily due to the 6.2-percent increase in the shelter index, and within shelter, the same percentage increase in owners’ equivalent rent of residences. Rent of primary residence rose 5.7 percent (the smallest increase since November 2022) and lodging away from home increased as well. A 2.6-percent decline in the medical care index lessened the overall all items less food and energy index rise. Prices for medical care services led the medical care index decline as they were down 3.9 percent.

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division was up 0.7 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division rose 0.5 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 2.7 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 2.0 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The February 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on March 12, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is published 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The New England division is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlantic division is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Jan. 2023	Nov. 2023	Dec. 2023
All items		316.252	316.143	318.133	2.5	0.6	0.6
All items (December 1977 = 100)		498.000	497.828	500.963
Food and beverages		325.397	325.301	327.728	2.4	0.7	0.7
Food		327.572	327.483	330.070	2.4	0.8	0.8
Food at home		306.717	306.005	309.247	1.1	0.8	1.1
Cereals and bakery products		388.714	382.875	387.418	2.7	-0.3	1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		307.669	307.787	311.662	-0.7	1.3	1.3
Dairy and related products		281.626	279.241	280.637	-0.4	-0.4	0.5
Fruits and vegetables		357.172	357.766	363.066	1.2	1.7	1.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		215.612	217.392	220.846	3.3	2.4	1.6
Other food at home		277.526	276.835	278.172	1.0	0.2	0.5
Food away from home		364.256	365.615	366.928	5.1	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		295.374	295.183	295.446	3.1	0.0	0.1
Housing		341.316	342.437	345.324	3.9	1.2	0.8
Shelter		419.375	422.128	424.528	6.2	1.2	0.6
Rent of primary residence		423.237	425.176	426.573	5.7	0.8	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		435.554	437.360	439.046	6.2	0.8	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		435.143	436.925	438.611	6.2	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities		294.997	290.304	299.492	-6.2	1.5	3.2
Household energy		263.481	258.519	268.337	-7.8	1.8	3.8
Energy services		255.200	252.083	262.967	-7.0	3.0	4.3
Electricity		263.322	260.114	274.352	-2.2	4.2	5.5
Utility (piped) gas service		221.491	218.772	222.316	-16.5	0.4	1.6
Household furnishings and operations		142.503	142.213	143.500	-0.8	0.7	0.9
Apparel		128.189	127.171	130.013	-2.1	1.4	2.2
Transportation		261.067	257.472	256.583	2.7	-1.7	-0.3
Private transportation		259.919	256.584	255.959	3.1	-1.5	-0.2
New and used motor vehicles(2)		126.799	124.402	123.947	0.4	-2.2	-0.4
New vehicles		175.000	174.597	174.821	1.5	-0.1	0.1
New cars(3)		165.466	164.646	165.225	0.8	-0.1	0.4
Used cars and trucks		198.124	198.313	190.773	-2.8	-3.7	-3.8
Motor fuel		299.039	285.602	275.692	-5.6	-7.8	-3.5
Gasoline (all types)		298.096	284.588	274.708	-5.4	-7.8	-3.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		292.560	278.749	268.749	-5.8	-8.1	-3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		328.683	316.069	305.778	-3.8	-7.0	-3.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		324.423	313.370	304.373	-3.1	-6.2	-2.9
Medical care		550.861	551.897	561.852	-2.6	2.0	1.8
Medical care commodities		403.345	404.924	412.457	4.0	2.3	1.9
Medical care services		594.027	594.896	605.554	-3.9	1.9	1.8
Professional services		424.812	424.875	428.919	-0.7	1.0	1.0
Recreation(2)		140.427	141.161	140.023	1.5	-0.3	-0.8
Education and communication(2)		154.627	154.568	155.018	0.2	0.3	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,410.737	1,410.104	1,409.045	2.2	-0.1	-0.1
Other goods and services		599.697	599.255	602.977	6.0	0.5	0.6
Commodity and service group
Commodities		227.448	225.941	226.532	0.0	-0.4	0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		176.693	174.684	174.501	-1.8	-1.2	-0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		226.699	223.166	223.281	-1.7	-1.5	0.1
Durables		121.256	120.492	120.145	-1.9	-0.9	-0.3
Services		401.523	402.731	406.062	3.9	1.1	0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		280.341	279.140	280.996	0.5	0.2	0.7
All items less medical care		305.975	305.814	307.449	3.0	0.5	0.5
Commodities less food		181.010	179.038	178.867	-1.6	-1.2	-0.1
Nondurables		275.433	273.576	274.825	0.7	-0.2	0.5
Nondurables less food		230.729	227.405	227.529	-1.3	-1.4	0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)		394.910	394.345	398.991	1.2	1.0	1.2
Services less medical care services		388.271	389.504	392.334	4.8	1.0	0.7
Energy		278.696	270.482	272.000	-7.3	-2.4	0.6
All items less energy		323.663	324.256	326.312	3.3	0.8	0.6
All items less food and energy		325.031	325.747	327.723	3.5	0.8	0.6
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.