Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were up 0.3 percent in June, 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 the all items less food and energy index (up 0.3 percent), and within that, a 0.6-percent rise in prices for shelter. The food index was up 0.2 percent while the energy index rose 0.1 percent over the month. (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 3.8 percent. (See chart 1.) The June rise was primarily due to a 4.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index (which has been higher than the all items index since March 2023). The food index rose 2.2 percent and the energy index increased 2.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.) 

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Mar 2024	3.4	4.0
Apr 2024	3.6	4.1
May 2024	3.9	4.3
Jun 2024	3.8	4.3

In June, the food index was up 0.2 percent over the month, mainly driven by a 0.4-percent increase in prices for food away from home. (See table 1.) The food at home index was up 0.1 percent, bolstered by increases in the other food at home index (up 0.5 percent) and the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index (up 0.6 percent). The index increase was tempered by declines in the fruits and vegetables index (down 1.6 percent) and the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (down 0.3 percent).

From June 2023 to June 2024, the food index increased 2.2 percent as the food away from home index advanced 4.8 percent. Prices for food at home were up 0.8 percent as the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index rose 2.8 percent (the greatest increase since April 2023). The nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (up 2.1 percent, the smallest increase since July 2021), other food at home index (up 1.0 percent), and cereals and bakery products index (up 0.7 percent) also contributed to the increase. Two indexes declined, fruits and vegetables (down 1.7 percent) and dairy and related products (down 0.5 percent).

The energy index increased 0.1 percent over the month, predominantly due to a 3.9-percent increase in prices for electricity. Electricity prices have risen in June nearly every year since the index began in 1978. The utility (piped) gas index also rose, up 1.3 percent. The gasoline index declined 2.6 percent (after four consecutive months of increases) and the fuel oil index was also down in June.

Over the year, energy prices were up 2.0 percent as the electricity index was up 4.0 percent, the utility (piped) gas service index rose 3.3 percent (up after 14 consecutive months of declines), and the fuel oil index also increased. The gasoline index decreased 0.8 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.3 percent in June, led by a 0.6-percent rise in the shelter index and within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index (up 0.4 percent). The rent of primary residence index was up 0.5 percent and lodging away from home prices also rose. Prices for household furnishings and operations increased 1.1 percent over the month. The recreation index rose 0.7 percent. Some indexes declined and moderated the overall increase, including the new and used motor vehicles index (down 0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 4.3 percent (the same as last month), mainly due to a 6.5-percent increase in the shelter index and a 6.7-percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index. The rent of primary residence index increased 5.7 percent. The medical care index rose 3.5 percent as prices for medical care services were up 3.1 percent and prices for medical care commodities were up 5.9 percent. A 2.9-percent decline in the new and used motor vehicles index was spurred by a 9.1-percent decrease in prices for used cars and trucks.

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the New England division was up 0.3 percent. The CPI-U for the Middle Atlantic division rose 0.2 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 3.8 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and in the New England division. (See table B.)

The July 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on August 14, 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	Apr. 2024	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jun. 2023	Apr. 2024	May 2024
All items		323.035	324.439	325.271	3.8	0.7	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		508.682	510.892	512.202
Food and beverages		328.442	328.156	329.007	2.1	0.2	0.3
Food		331.143	330.775	331.469	2.2	0.1	0.2
Food at home		309.571	307.711	307.891	0.8	-0.5	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		389.766	384.960	386.874	0.7	-0.7	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		313.236	311.825	313.613	2.8	0.1	0.6
Dairy and related products		276.738	274.567	276.169	-0.5	-0.2	0.6
Fruits and vegetables		356.219	353.598	347.943	-1.7	-2.3	-1.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		221.439	221.756	221.119	2.1	-0.1	-0.3
Other food at home		282.218	280.595	282.135	1.0	0.0	0.5
Food away from home		369.423	371.911	373.582	4.8	1.1	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		291.361	292.155	295.121	0.6	1.3	1.0
Housing		349.128	351.041	353.688	5.7	1.3	0.8
Shelter		430.231	433.995	436.491	6.5	1.5	0.6
Rent of primary residence		431.822	433.802	436.003	5.7	1.0	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		445.161	449.915	451.832	6.7	1.5	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		444.709	449.465	451.377	6.7	1.5	0.4
Fuels and utilities		296.553	292.793	298.760	3.6	0.7	2.0
Household energy		264.545	260.512	266.665	3.8	0.8	2.4
Energy services		259.200	256.681	264.900	4.0	2.2	3.2
Electricity		271.038	271.782	282.480	4.0	4.2	3.9
Utility (piped) gas service		217.923	209.180	211.964	3.3	-2.7	1.3
Household furnishings and operations		145.132	144.468	145.986	1.7	0.6	1.1
Apparel		135.494	134.425	134.081	0.1	-1.0	-0.3
Transportation		267.790	269.628	267.276	2.7	-0.2	-0.9
Private transportation		265.932	268.333	266.037	3.0	0.0	-0.9
New and used motor vehicles(2)		125.251	125.437	124.559	-2.9	-0.6	-0.7
New vehicles		174.973	174.923	174.977	0.1	0.0	0.0
New cars(3)		164.580	164.835	164.957	-0.5	0.2	0.1
Used cars and trucks		192.122	192.759	193.788	-9.1	0.9	0.5
Motor fuel		302.214	310.281	302.221	-0.8	0.0	-2.6
Gasoline (all types)		301.658	309.881	301.867	-0.8	0.1	-2.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		296.679	304.903	296.618	-1.0	0.0	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		328.534	337.743	330.810	0.5	0.7	-2.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		325.528	333.583	327.141	1.0	0.5	-1.9
Medical care		572.201	578.443	578.651	3.5	1.1	0.0
Medical care commodities		416.845	424.118	425.037	5.9	2.0	0.2
Medical care services		617.727	623.600	623.580	3.1	0.9	0.0
Professional services		425.509	425.472	425.588	-1.2	0.0	0.0
Recreation(2)		141.671	142.716	143.728	2.8	1.5	0.7
Education and communication(2)		155.405	155.592	155.197	0.7	-0.1	-0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,410.503	1,413.099	1,414.764	2.2	0.3	0.1
Other goods and services		609.924	608.155	607.588	2.4	-0.4	-0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		229.362	229.520	229.461	0.5	0.0	0.0
Commodities less food and beverages		178.052	178.383	177.957	-0.7	-0.1	-0.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		231.110	231.943	230.342	1.0	-0.3	-0.7
Durables		120.504	120.472	120.849	-2.8	0.3	0.3
Services		412.950	415.545	417.230	5.7	1.0	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		285.643	286.166	286.376	2.3	0.3	0.1
All items less medical care		312.111	313.299	314.159	3.8	0.7	0.3
Commodities less food		182.229	182.575	182.239	-0.7	0.0	-0.2
Nondurables		279.178	279.463	279.062	1.6	0.0	-0.1
Nondurables less food		234.607	235.437	234.122	0.9	-0.2	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter(1)		407.395	408.706	409.225	4.6	0.4	0.1
Services less medical care services		398.859	401.230	403.031	5.9	1.0	0.4
Energy		280.986	282.049	282.219	2.0	0.4	0.1
All items less energy		330.960	332.411	333.307	4.0	0.7	0.3
All items less food and energy		333.029	334.808	335.745	4.3	0.8	0.3
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.