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News Release Information

24-685-PHI
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area – March 2024

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past 2 months, up 3.4 percent from a year ago.

Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.0 percent over the 2 months ending in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the March increase was due to a 0.8-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, in large part due to higher prices for shelter and public transportation. For the same period, the energy index and food index rose, up 6.1 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U index advanced 3.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index was mostly responsible for the total increase as it rose 3.5 percent, marking a year since it began to surpass the all items index. Food prices were up 2.5 percent and energy prices were up 4.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.1 percent for the 2-month period ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent, and prices for food at home were down 0.3 percent in the same period. Within the food at home index, prices decreased 3.2 percent for dairy and related products, the largest decline since November 2020 (-4.0 percent). Also declining were prices for fruits and vegetables (-1.5 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-0.4 percent); and other food at home (-0.2 percent). Slightly offsetting the reduction in prices for the grocery index was an increase in prices for cereals and bakery products (+2.5 percent); and prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+1.1 percent).

Over the year, food prices increased 2.5 percent with prices for food away from home rising 4.7 percent. For the same period, prices for food at home rose 1.0 percent. For the grocery index, rising prices in the other food at home index (+3.4 percent) and the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (+3.7 percent) led the advance. The increase in grocery prices was moderated by the sixth consecutive bi-monthly price decrease for the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index, down 1.6 percent. Also tempering the grocery index was the dairy and related products index, down -1.5 percent, continuing a trend of declines that started in July 2023.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.1 percent for the 2 months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+10.7 percent). Prices for electricity increased 2.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 1.7 percent in the same period.

Energy prices increased 4.1 percent over the year, ending a year of consecutive monthly declines in the index. The advance in the energy index was largely due to higher prices for gasoline, up 3.7 percent. Prices for electricity rose 4.0 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index advanced 8.1 percent—the first 12-month percent increase after a year of monthly declines that ranged from 27.1 percent to 11.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

In the latest 2-month period, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent. The overall index rise was led by higher prices for shelter (+1.2 percent), apparel (+4.5 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+0.7 percent), and public transportation. Within the shelter index, increases were reported in prices for lodging away from home, owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+ 0.6 percent), and rent of primary residence (+ 0.8 percent). Prices for used cars and trucks (+ 1.3 percent) contributed to the new and used motor vehicles index rise while new vehicle prices decreased 0.3 percent. Slightly offsetting the all items less food and energy index were declines in the medical care index (-0.6 percent, driven by lower prices for medical care commodities).

For the year ending in March, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent, leading the rise were shelter (+4.7 percent) and medical care (+3.7 percent) prices. In the shelter index, owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 5.7 percent and the index for rent of primary residence advanced 3.2 percent. The only price declines were in apparel (-1.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (-0.3 percent—the first decline in the index since July 2020), and public transportation.

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20202021202220232024
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.51.60.71.50.96.0-0.34.40.53.6

March

-0.40.40.72.61.97.31.33.71.03.4

May

0.1-0.11.33.81.57.50.93.1

July

0.60.81.24.41.17.5-0.11.8

September

0.61.20.74.5-0.26.51.33.3

November

0.01.41.25.80.35.6-0.32.8

The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2024.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

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, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024
Mar.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0
309.961 313.1083.41.0 

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF
305.996 306.1622.40.1 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF1
315.228 315.4262.50.1 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF11
293.032292.989292.1971.0-0.3-0.3

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF111
382.719391.491392.4781.52.50.3

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF112
309.491306.276308.305-1.6-0.40.7

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFJ
292.009292.509282.607-1.5-3.2-3.4

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF113
306.901303.898302.1840.6-1.5-0.6

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF114
262.073265.815264.9483.71.1-0.3

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF115
246.399245.650245.9383.4-0.20.1

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEFV
346.199 347.8584.70.5 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAF116
219.942 219.8520.50.0 

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH
324.023 327.7684.21.2 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH1
386.317388.582390.8804.71.20.6

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHA
415.673418.175419.0863.20.80.2

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC
399.138400.501401.4785.70.60.2

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHC01
399.138400.501401.4785.70.60.2

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH2
282.437 286.3454.51.4 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH21
221.222220.022225.4714.31.92.5

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF
226.100224.136230.6745.02.02.9

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF01
250.127249.813255.4394.02.12.3

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEHF02
163.484158.174166.2658.11.75.1

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAH3
132.114 133.0760.80.7 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAA
157.929 165.085-1.84.5 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT
265.530 271.7913.22.4 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAT1
277.586 282.6793.71.8 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA
126.032 126.967-0.30.7 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA01
229.099 228.478-0.9-0.3 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETA02
389.743 394.714-1.41.3 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB
295.940309.504327.5873.710.75.8

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASETB01
291.629305.003322.8603.710.75.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47014
283.288296.984315.1983.811.36.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47015
307.900318.173333.0223.98.24.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASS47016
324.220334.525348.7683.87.64.3

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAM
534.928 531.6373.7-0.6 

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAR
128.950 129.3821.60.3 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAE
166.418 166.1421.3-0.2 

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASEEB
1,669.910 1,688.2726.51.1 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAG
522.206 528.6317.61.2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAC
212.623 214.2970.50.8 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL11
167.081 169.217-0.91.3 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL11
218.136 224.7711.43.0 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAD
119.120 118.523-3.2-0.5 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAS
397.245 401.7705.01.1 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L2
278.330 280.8752.60.9 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L5
299.471 302.9003.31.1 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASACL1
169.257 171.304-0.91.2 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASAN
260.914 264.3962.01.3 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASANL1
217.695 223.6521.32.7 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL2RS
422.033 426.5495.41.1 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASASL5
384.013 388.6965.01.2 

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0E
260.849265.746276.6624.16.14.1

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0LE
317.800 320.1353.30.7 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ASA0L1E
319.534 322.2233.50.8 

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a November 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024