Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.6 percent for the 2 months ending in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A). Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that August’s rise was due to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (also rising 0.6 percent) influenced by higher prices for shelter and other goods and services. The food index was up 0.9 percent, and the energy index declined -1.2 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 CPI-U increased 3.4 percent, led by the index for all items less food and energy, up 4.0 percent largely due to rising shelter prices. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices also rose, up 3.6 percent. The energy index decreased -4.0 percent, in part due to lower prices for gasoline. (See table 1). 

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, August 2021–August 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2021	4.6	4.1
Oct 2021	5.6	4.6
Dec 2021	6.6	5.6
Feb 2022	7.3	5.9
Apr 2022	8.4	6.3
Jun 2022	8.8	5.6
Aug 2022	8.1	5.8
Oct 2022	7.8	5.8
Dec 2022	6.4	5.2
Feb 2023	6.9	6.3
Apr 2023	4.7	5.0
Jun 2023	3.1	4.6
Aug 2023	3.9	4.6
Oct 2023	3.5	4.4
Dec 2023	3.9	4.7
Feb 2024	3.4	4.2
Apr 2024	4.1	4.6
Jun 2024	3.6	4.0
Aug 2024	3.4	4.0

In the two months ending in August, the food index advanced 0.9 percent, mostly due to the food at home index, which rose 1.1 percent. Leading the rise in grocery prices were cereals and bakery products, up 3.1 percent; and fruit and vegetables, up 2.1 percent after declining in the past two periods. Tempering the grocery index were decreased prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, down -3.3 percent. For the same period, prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.6 percent, where prices for food away from home increased 4.7 percent and prices for food at home were up 2.9 percent. Mainly contributing to the increase for food at home was the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index, up 6.8 percent. Prices also rose for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, up 8.0 percent. Declining prices for fruits and vegetables (-0.7 percent) slightly tempered the rise in the grocery index.

The energy index decreased -1.2 percent for the 2 months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices in the gasoline index (-2.9 percent), and the fuel oil index. For the same period, the electricity index went unchanged. Marking the smallest 2-month increase of the year, the prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 0.3 percent.

From August 2023 to August 2024, energy prices declined -4.0 percent, led by a lower gasoline index and declining prices for fuel oil. Prices for gasoline decreased -11.6 percent, and prices for natural gas also decreased 1.5 percent. Slowing the overall energy index decline, prices for electricity were up 5.3 percent over-the-year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in the latest 2-month period. The rise was led by higher prices for shelter (1.0 percent) and other goods and services (1.5 percent). Within the shelter index, both the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and the rent of primary residence index increased 0.6 percent. Other advances in the all items less food and energy index also included apparel (0.5 percent), medical care (0.2 percent), and recreation (0.2 percent). Prices for new and used motor vehicles remained unchanged. Mitigating the overall rise were lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.2 percent), education and communication (-0.6 percent), and alcoholic beverages (-0.8 percent).

During the past year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.0 percent, mainly driven by a 5.9-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the indexes for rent of primary residence rose 6.4 percent, owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 5.9 percent, and lodging away from home decreased. The recreation index rose 2.6 percent over the year, and the medical care index increased 1.5 percent for the same period. Other categories also had increases— prices for other goods and services were up 3.0 percent, prices for apparel advanced 0.5 percent, and prices for household furnishings and operations rose 0.8 percent. Prices for education and communication were unchanged and partially tempering the overall index increase was a decrease in prices for new and used motor vehicles, down -2.0 percent.

The October 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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, 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County 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, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Aug. 2024	Aug. 2023	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024
All items		314.328		316.061	3.4	0.6
All items (1967 = 100)		908.076		913.084
Food and beverages		301.174		303.494	3.5	0.8
Food		303.882		306.539	3.6	0.9
Food at home		307.039	307.358	310.453	2.9	1.1	1.0
Cereals and bakery products		408.259	418.543	420.999	2.5	3.1	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		344.392	342.780	349.195	6.8	1.4	1.9
Dairy and related products		235.964	239.753	242.061	3.1	2.6	1.0
Fruits and vegetables		293.049	295.426	299.330	-0.7	2.1	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		227.267	217.856	219.866	8.0	-3.3	0.9
Other food at home		292.920	294.865	295.640	0.1	0.9	0.3
Food away from home		291.154		292.647	4.7	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		259.756		257.672	0.9	-0.8
Housing		337.851		339.789	4.9	0.6
Shelter		417.433	419.561	421.492	5.9	1.0	0.5
Rent of primary residence		393.168	394.195	395.714	6.4	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		429.041	430.551	431.781	5.9	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		429.041	430.551	431.781	5.9	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		276.848		276.957	1.4	0.0
Household energy		229.788	230.280	229.807	1.8	0.0	-0.2
Energy services		243.727	243.857	243.867	3.5	0.1	0.0
Electricity		249.455	249.401	249.390	5.3	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		211.077	211.686	211.750	-1.5	0.3	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		149.084		145.874	0.8	-2.2
Apparel		112.299		112.912	0.5	0.5
Transportation		273.632		275.900	1.5	0.8
Private transportation		287.447		290.459	2.5	1.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.709		133.768	-2.0	0.0
New vehicles(1)		238.351		237.983	-0.5	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		342.372		337.777	-8.6	-1.3
Motor fuel		320.656	325.045	311.435	-11.7	-2.9	-4.2
Gasoline (all types)		316.674	321.046	307.613	-11.6	-2.9	-4.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		311.509	316.156	302.024	-12.2	-3.0	-4.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		331.787	334.858	324.300	-9.0	-2.3	-3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		328.839	331.565	322.499	-8.1	-1.9	-2.7
Medical care		598.605		599.776	1.5	0.2
Recreation(3)		137.692		137.907	2.6	0.2
Education and communication(3)		138.697		137.858	0.0	-0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,158.750		1,158.801	1.4	0.0
Other goods and services		693.827		704.532	3.0	1.5
Commodity and service group
Commodities		223.300		223.162	-0.2	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		181.876		180.423	-2.6	-0.8
Nondurables less food and beverages		227.183		225.926	-1.3	-0.6
Durables		129.667		128.161	-4.5	-1.2
Services		404.472		408.034	5.2	0.9
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		278.892		279.752	1.9	0.3
All items less medical care		302.206		303.960	3.5	0.6
Commodities less food		185.038		183.559	-2.5	-0.8
Nondurables		264.847		265.479	1.2	0.2
Nondurables less food		229.201		227.885	-1.3	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)		397.854		400.967	4.3	0.8
Services less medical care services		389.528		393.185	5.6	0.9
Energy		264.970	266.822	261.783	-4.0	-1.2	-1.9
All items less energy		322.676		324.801	3.9	0.7
All items less food and energy		329.202		331.232	4.0	0.6
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base (2) Indexes on a December 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.