Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.8 percent over the 2 months ending in May 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the May increase was mostly due to a 0.8-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, in large part due to higher prices for recreation and shelter. For the same period, the energy index and food index rose, up 1.9 percent and 0.4 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 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Continuing to trend above the all items index, the all items less food and energy index rose 3.5 percent. Food prices were up 2.6 percent. Energy prices were up 2.7 percent over the year, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, May 2021–May 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2021	3.8	3.2
Jul 2021	4.4	3.6
Sep 2021	4.5	3.7
Nov 2021	5.8	4.4
Jan 2022	6.0	4.8
Mar 2022	7.3	6.0
May 2022	7.5	5.7
Jul 2022	7.5	5.6
Sep 2022	6.5	5.6
Nov 2022	5.6	4.9
Jan 2023	4.4	3.6
Mar 2023	3.7	4.0
May 2023	3.1	3.9
Jul 2023	1.8	2.9
Sep 2023	3.3	3.6
Nov 2023	2.8	3.3
Jan 2024	3.6	4.6
Mar 2024	3.4	3.5
May 2024	3.3	3.5

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the 2-month period ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 0.1 percent, and prices for food at home were up 0.6 percent in the same period. Leading the rise in the grocery index were prices for cereals and bakery products (+3.6 percent); other food at home (+1.2 percent); and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.3 percent). Declines in prices for fruits and vegetables (-2.4 percent), and dairy and related products (-1.1 percent) tempered the advance of prices in the food at home index.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.6 percent with prices for food away from home rising 3.8 percent. For the same period, prices for food at home rose 1.9 percent. Within food at home, most of the grocery categories rose with nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials leading the advance with a 7.7 percent increase, followed by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (+5.8 percent) and fruits and vegetables (+1.7 percent). Slightly offsetting the rise in the food at home index were prices for dairy and related products down 2.2 percent, and other food at home down 0.1 percent.

The energy index rose 1.9 percent for the 2 months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to rising prices for gasoline, up 3.9 percent, well below March’s 10.7 percent rise. For the same period, prices for natural gas service and prices for electricity advanced 0.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Energy prices increased 2.7 percent over the year, down from March’s increase of 4.1 percent. The advance in the energy index was largely due to higher prices for gasoline, up 3.3 percent. Prices for electricity rose 4.3 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index declined 3.9 percent over the past year.

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 recreation (+4.3 percent), and shelter (+0.6 percent). Within the shelter index, both the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and rent of primary residence index had increases of 0.6 percent. Recording rising prices as well were the education and communication index, up 1.4 percent, and the medical care index, up 0.4 percent. Partially offsetting the all items less food and energy index were lower prices for household furnishings and operations, down 4.2 percent (the largest decrease since September 1999), and other goods and services (-1.4 percent).

For the year ending in May, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase were prices for shelter (+4.3 percent) and medical care (+4.1 percent). Within the shelter index, owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 5.2 percent and the index for rent of primary residence advanced 3.7 percent. Tempering the overall index in part were price declines in new and used motor vehicles (-2.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (-2.1 percent), and apparel (-1.7 percent) indexes.

The July 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on August 14, 2024.

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 category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	May 2024	May 2023	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024
All items		313.108		315.667	3.3	0.8
Food and beverages		306.162		307.570	2.6	0.5
Food		315.426		316.605	2.6	0.4
Food at home		292.197	291.525	294.055	1.9	0.6	0.9
Cereals and bakery products		392.478	389.127	406.782	5.8	3.6	4.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		308.305	308.659	312.280	1.3	1.3	1.2
Dairy and related products		282.607	287.268	279.383	-2.2	-1.1	-2.7
Fruits and vegetables		302.184	294.039	295.028	1.7	-2.4	0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		264.948	265.427	267.668	7.7	1.0	0.8
Other food at home		245.938	247.500	248.864	-0.1	1.2	0.6
Food away from home		347.858		348.075	3.8	0.1
Alcoholic beverages		219.852		222.967	2.1	1.4
Housing		327.768		328.092	3.5	0.1
Shelter		390.880	391.724	393.133	4.3	0.6	0.4
Rent of primary residence		419.086	420.172	421.636	3.7	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		401.478	402.068	403.982	5.2	0.6	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		401.478	402.068	403.982	5.2	0.6	0.5
Fuels and utilities		286.345		286.605	2.5	0.1
Household energy		225.471	220.292	225.592	1.7	0.1	2.4
Energy services		230.674	224.280	231.503	2.3	0.4	3.2
Electricity		255.439	253.755	256.010	4.3	0.2	0.9
Utility (piped) gas service		166.265	150.358	167.587	-3.9	0.8	11.5
Household furnishings and operations		133.076		127.527	-2.1	-4.2
Apparel		165.085		162.336	-1.7	-1.7
Transportation		271.791		279.309	3.1	2.8
Private transportation		282.679		290.343	3.0	2.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		126.967		127.114	-2.3	0.1
New vehicles(1)		228.478		228.073	-1.4	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		394.714		394.748	-8.6	0.0
Motor fuel		327.587	342.988	340.212	3.4	3.9	-0.8
Gasoline (all types)		322.860	338.079	335.348	3.3	3.9	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		315.198	330.441	327.464	3.3	3.9	-0.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		333.022	347.051	345.656	3.9	3.8	-0.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		348.768	362.742	361.768	4.0	3.7	-0.3
Medical care		531.637		533.844	4.1	0.4
Recreation(3)		129.382		135.001	5.5	4.3
Education and communication(3)		166.142		168.508	1.8	1.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,688.272		1,688.272	6.5	0.0
Other goods and services		528.631		521.410	4.5	-1.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		214.297		214.973	0.2	0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		169.217		169.589	-1.5	0.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		224.771		226.268	1.5	0.7
Durables		118.523		118.229	-4.5	-0.2
Services		401.770		406.150	5.0	1.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		280.875		283.583	2.7	1.0
All items less medical care		302.900		305.471	3.2	0.8
Commodities less food		171.304		171.786	-1.4	0.3
Nondurables		264.396		265.849	2.2	0.5
Nondurables less food		223.652		225.303	1.5	0.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)		426.549		433.955	6.0	1.7
Services less medical care services		388.696		393.513	5.2	1.2
Energy		276.662	279.846	281.990	2.7	1.9	0.8
All items less energy		320.135		322.543	3.3	0.8
All items less food and energy		322.223		324.840	3.5	0.8
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.