Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the lack of change was due to a combination of rises in the energy and food indexes (1.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively) that were countered by a 0.1-percent decline in the all items less food and energy index. (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 3.6 percent, primarily because of a 3.9-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index. (See chart 1.) Food prices rose 2.2 percent. Energy prices advanced 3.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. (See table 1.) 

  

View Chart Data

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

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jul 2024	3.6	3.9

In July, the food index was up 0.2 percent over the month, mainly driven by a 0.4-percent increase in prices for food at home. (See table 1.) Within the grocery categories, the fruits and vegetables index rose 1.5 percent, the largest index increase since January 2024. The 1.8-percent rise in the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index was led by price increases for carbonated drinks and coffee. Prices for dairy and related products were up 1.4 percent. The overall index rise was tempered by declines across the remaining categories, including other food at home (down 0.7 percent). The food away from home index was unchanged over the month.

From July 2023 to July 2024, the food index increased 2.2 percent as the food away from home index advanced 4.6 percent. Prices for food at home were up 0.9 percent, led by the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index (up 3.1 percent) and the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (up 4.6 percent).

The energy index increased 1.1 percent over the month, predominantly due to a 2.1-percent increase in prices for electricity. The gasoline index was up 0.4 percent in July after declining 2.6 percent last month. The fuel oil index also rose, and the utility (piped) gas index increased 0.5 percent.

Over the year, energy prices were up 3.7 percent. The electricity index was up 9.2 percent, the largest index advance since April 2023. The utility (piped) gas service index rose 4.9 percent and the fuel oil index also increased. The gasoline index declined 1.2 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.1 percent in July, the first index decline since November 2022. Prices for lodging away from home, a component of the shelter index, contributed to the decline. The medical care index also decreased (down 1.1 percent), mainly due to a 1.3-percent decline in prices for medical care services. Prices for apparel were down 2.7 percent and prices for public transportation also decreased. Some indexes rose over the month and tempered the overall decline. The shelter index was up 0.1 percent despite the lower prices for lodging away from home, led by a 0.4-percent increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and a 0.5-percent increase in the rent of primary residence index. Prices for household furnishings and operations were up 0.7 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.9 percent, mainly because of the 6.2-percent rise in the shelter index. Within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 6.4 percent, and the rent of primary residence index was up 5.7 percent. The medical care index was up 2.2 percent over the year, as prices rose for medical care commodities (up 5.3 percent) and medical care services (up 1.6 percent). Two indexes declined over the year: new and used motor vehicles (down 3.7 percent; the fourth consecutive month of accelerating decreases) and apparel (down 1.3 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 0.2 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division declined 0.3 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 3.7 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 3.5 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The August Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on September 11, 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	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Jul. 2023	May 2024	Jun. 2024
All items		324.439	325.271	325.339	3.6	0.3	0.0
All items (December 1977 = 100)		510.892	512.202	512.309
Food and beverages		328.156	329.007	329.749	2.1	0.5	0.2
Food		330.775	331.469	332.234	2.2	0.4	0.2
Food at home		307.711	307.891	309.000	0.9	0.4	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		384.960	386.874	385.818	-0.5	0.2	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		311.825	313.613	313.213	3.1	0.4	-0.1
Dairy and related products		274.567	276.169	279.924	-0.4	2.0	1.4
Fruits and vegetables		353.598	347.943	353.095	-1.0	-0.1	1.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		221.756	221.119	225.084	4.6	1.5	1.8
Other food at home		280.595	282.135	280.052	0.1	-0.2	-0.7
Food away from home		371.911	373.582	373.682	4.6	0.5	0.0
Alcoholic beverages		292.155	295.121	295.550	0.4	1.2	0.1
Housing		351.041	353.688	354.777	5.8	1.1	0.3
Shelter		433.995	436.491	437.068	6.2	0.7	0.1
Rent of primary residence		433.802	436.003	438.034	5.7	1.0	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		449.915	451.832	453.685	6.4	0.8	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		449.465	451.377	453.220	6.4	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities		292.793	298.760	302.989	6.4	3.5	1.4
Household energy		260.512	266.665	271.118	7.3	4.1	1.7
Energy services		256.681	264.900	269.198	8.1	4.9	1.6
Electricity		271.782	282.480	288.277	9.2	6.1	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service		209.180	211.964	213.020	4.9	1.8	0.5
Household furnishings and operations		144.468	145.986	147.046	2.3	1.8	0.7
Apparel		134.425	134.081	130.491	-1.3	-2.9	-2.7
Transportation		269.628	267.276	267.463	2.3	-0.8	0.1
Private transportation		268.333	266.037	267.701	2.6	-0.2	0.6
New and used motor vehicles(2)		125.437	124.559	124.986	-3.7	-0.4	0.3
New vehicles		174.923	174.977	174.967	-0.1	0.0	0.0
New cars(3)		164.835	164.957	164.696	-0.6	-0.1	-0.2
Used cars and trucks		192.759	193.788	192.432	-9.6	-0.2	-0.7
Motor fuel		310.281	302.221	303.288	-1.2	-2.3	0.4
Gasoline (all types)		309.881	301.867	302.970	-1.2	-2.2	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		304.903	296.618	297.770	-1.5	-2.3	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		337.743	330.810	331.681	0.1	-1.8	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		333.583	327.141	327.972	0.5	-1.7	0.3
Medical care		578.443	578.651	572.336	2.2	-1.1	-1.1
Medical care commodities		424.118	425.037	424.001	5.3	0.0	-0.2
Medical care services		623.600	623.580	615.631	1.6	-1.3	-1.3
Professional services		425.472	425.588	425.016	-2.1	-0.1	-0.1
Recreation(2)		142.716	143.728	142.794	1.9	0.1	-0.6
Education and communication(2)		155.592	155.197	155.599	0.6	0.0	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,413.099	1,414.764	1,422.147	1.7	0.6	0.5
Other goods and services		608.155	607.588	610.227	2.6	0.3	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		229.520	229.461	229.201	0.3	-0.1	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		178.383	177.957	177.303	-1.0	-0.6	-0.4
Nondurables less food and beverages		231.943	230.342	228.745	0.3	-1.4	-0.7
Durables		120.472	120.849	120.881	-2.5	0.3	0.0
Services		415.545	417.230	417.612	5.4	0.5	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		286.166	286.376	286.252	2.2	0.0	0.0
All items less medical care		313.299	314.159	314.513	3.7	0.4	0.1
Commodities less food		182.575	182.239	181.611	-0.9	-0.5	-0.3
Nondurables		279.463	279.062	278.609	1.3	-0.3	-0.2
Nondurables less food		235.437	234.122	232.653	0.3	-1.2	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter(1)		408.706	409.225	409.397	4.4	0.2	0.0
Services less medical care services		401.230	403.031	403.982	5.9	0.7	0.2
Energy		282.049	282.219	285.253	3.7	1.1	1.1
All items less energy		332.411	333.307	333.142	3.6	0.2	0.0
All items less food and energy		334.808	335.745	335.415	3.9	0.2	-0.1
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.