Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were up 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the rise was mainly due to a matching price percentage increase in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index also rose, up 0.6 percent over the month. The index for food declined 0.1 percent. (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 2.4 percent, the smallest increase since June 2023. (See chart 1.) The February advance was primarily due to a 3.2-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, which was led by increases within the shelter index. The food index rose 1.9 percent, mainly due to increased prices for food away from home. The energy index decreased 5.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.) 

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Feb 2024	2.4	3.2

In February, the food index decreased 0.1 percent over the month (moderating after rising 0.8 percent in January) as the food at home index declined 0.3 percent. (See table 1.)  The indexes that contributed to the decrease were meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 0.9 percent), fruits and vegetables (down 0.6 percent), and dairy and related products (down 1.0 percent). Cereals and bakery products (up 0.1 percent mainly due to price increases for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies), other food at home (up 0.4 percent), and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 0.1 percent) increased and tempered the overall index decline. The food away from home index rose 0.1 percent.

From February 2023 to February 2024, the food index increased 1.9 percent, the smallest increase since June 2021, as the food away from home index advanced 4.9 percent (the smallest rise since August 2021). Prices for food at home were up 0.5 percent, led by a 2.4-percent increase in the cereals and bakery products index. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 2.6 percent) and other food at home (up 1.2 percent) also rose. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index and the dairy and related products index counteracted the overall index increase as they both declined 1.5 percent over the year.

The energy index increased 0.6 percent over the month (the same as in January), driven primarily by a 1.6-percent rise in the gasoline index (the first time the index has risen since September 2023). Fuel oil prices also rose, and the utility (piped) gas service index was up 0.5 percent. Prices for electricity decreased 0.8 percent in February and offset some of the energy index rise.

Over the year, energy prices were down 5.2 percent as all energy components declined. The February decrease was driven by lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (down 12.8 percent, moderating from the 23.1-percent decline in September 2023). The gasoline index was down 4.4 percent, electricity declined 2.0 percent, and fuel oil also decreased.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.5 percent in February due to widespread increases throughout the index categories. Prices for shelter were up 0.3 percent, led by a 0.5-percent increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and followed by an equivalent increase in the rent of primary residence index. The lodging away from home index declined. The apparel index was up 2.9 percent—it has increased every year in February since 1993. Prices for recreation increased 0.9 percent, the largest rise since June 2021. The household furnishings and operations index increased 0.8 percent and also contributed to the overall rise in the all items less food and energy index.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.2 percent, the smallest rise since September 2021, primarily due to a 5.8-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 6.0 percent as rent of primary residence increased 5.6 percent. The other goods and service index (up 4.8 percent) and the recreation index (up 1.9 percent) also contributed to the overall index rise. A 2.2-percent decline in the medical care index tempered the increases, led by a 3.4-percent decrease in prices for medical care services.

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 0.5 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division rose 0.4 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 2.6 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 2.1 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The March 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on April 10, 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	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024	Feb. 2024	Feb. 2023	Dec. 2023	Jan. 2024
All items		316.143	318.133	319.577	2.4	1.1	0.5
All items (December 1977 = 100)		497.828	500.963	503.237
Food and beverages		325.301	327.728	327.137	1.9	0.6	-0.2
Food		327.483	330.070	329.662	1.9	0.7	-0.1
Food at home		306.005	309.247	308.361	0.5	0.8	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products		382.875	387.418	387.709	2.4	1.3	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		307.787	311.662	308.753	-1.5	0.3	-0.9
Dairy and related products		279.241	280.637	277.943	-1.5	-0.5	-1.0
Fruits and vegetables		357.766	363.066	360.819	-0.1	0.9	-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		217.392	220.846	221.102	2.6	1.7	0.1
Other food at home		276.835	278.172	279.156	1.2	0.8	0.4
Food away from home		365.615	366.928	367.438	4.9	0.5	0.1
Alcoholic beverages		295.183	295.446	292.405	1.8	-0.9	-1.0
Housing		342.437	345.324	346.555	3.9	1.2	0.4
Shelter		422.128	424.528	425.974	5.8	0.9	0.3
Rent of primary residence		425.176	426.573	428.770	5.6	0.8	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		437.360	439.046	441.139	6.0	0.9	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		436.925	438.611	440.700	6.0	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities		290.304	299.492	299.600	-4.0	3.2	0.0
Household energy		258.519	268.337	268.062	-5.2	3.7	-0.1
Energy services		252.083	262.967	261.801	-5.6	3.9	-0.4
Electricity		260.114	274.352	272.024	-2.0	4.6	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service		218.772	222.316	223.513	-12.8	2.2	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		142.213	143.500	144.672	-0.7	1.7	0.8
Apparel		127.171	130.013	133.770	-1.9	5.2	2.9
Transportation		257.472	256.583	258.911	2.4	0.6	0.9
Private transportation		256.584	255.959	257.930	2.8	0.5	0.8
New and used motor vehicles(2)		124.402	123.947	124.644	0.0	0.2	0.6
New vehicles		174.597	174.821	174.890	1.2	0.2	0.0
New cars(3)		164.646	165.225	164.792	0.3	0.1	-0.3
Used cars and trucks		198.313	190.773	191.771	-0.7	-3.3	0.5
Motor fuel		285.602	275.692	280.019	-4.6	-2.0	1.6
Gasoline (all types)		284.588	274.708	279.095	-4.4	-1.9	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		278.749	268.749	273.415	-4.7	-1.9	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		316.069	305.778	308.449	-3.3	-2.4	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		313.370	304.373	307.156	-2.6	-2.0	0.9
Medical care		551.897	561.852	562.889	-2.2	2.0	0.2
Medical care commodities		404.924	412.457	412.870	4.2	2.0	0.1
Medical care services		594.896	605.554	606.782	-3.4	2.0	0.2
Professional services		424.875	428.919	428.869	-0.8	0.9	0.0
Recreation(2)		141.161	140.023	141.310	1.9	0.1	0.9
Education and communication(2)		154.568	155.018	155.401	0.3	0.5	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,410.104	1,409.045	1,410.151	2.2	0.0	0.1
Other goods and services		599.255	602.977	608.833	4.8	1.6	1.0
Commodity and service group
Commodities		225.941	226.532	227.473	0.1	0.7	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages		174.684	174.501	176.018	-1.2	0.8	0.9
Nondurables less food and beverages		223.166	223.281	226.697	-0.6	1.6	1.5
Durables		120.492	120.145	120.252	-2.0	-0.2	0.1
Services		402.731	406.062	407.988	3.7	1.3	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		279.140	280.996	282.454	0.6	1.2	0.5
All items less medical care		305.814	307.449	308.913	2.8	1.0	0.5
Commodities less food		179.038	178.867	180.268	-1.1	0.7	0.8
Nondurables		273.576	274.825	276.282	0.9	1.0	0.5
Nondurables less food		227.405	227.529	230.540	-0.4	1.4	1.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		394.345	398.991	401.467	1.3	1.8	0.6
Services less medical care services		389.504	392.334	394.307	4.5	1.2	0.5
Energy		270.482	272.000	273.665	-5.2	1.2	0.6
All items less energy		324.256	326.312	327.759	3.0	1.1	0.4
All items less food and energy		325.747	327.723	329.505	3.2	1.2	0.5
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.