Prices in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.2 percent over the 2 months ending in July 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the July increase was mostly due to a 1.5-percent rise in the food index, in large part due to rising grocery prices. For the same period, the all items less food and energy index and the energy index rose, up 0.1 percent and 0.3 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 3.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Leading the increase was the all items less food and energy index, up 3.8 percent. Food prices rose 4.4 percent and energy prices were up 0.5 percent over the year, 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, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, July 2021–July 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
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
Jul 2024	3.7	3.8

Food prices increased 1.5 percent for the 2-month period ending in July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home were up 1.7 percent in the same period. Leading the rise in the grocery index were prices for other food at home (+3.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+4.5 percent). A decline in prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-2.5 percent) slightly lessened the advance of prices in the food at home index. Prices for food away from home rose 1.2 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.4 percent, with prices for food at home up 4.2 percent (the largest 12-month percent change since March 2023). Within food at home, most of the grocery categories advanced with cereals and bakery products leading the advance with a 12.9 percent increase (largest over-the year increase since July 2022). Tempering the food at home index were decreasing prices for dairy and related products down 0.3 percent, with this July marking a year of consecutive 12-month percent change declines in the dairy index. Prices for food away from home were up 4.7 percent.

The energy index rose 0.3 percent for the 2 months ending in July, moderating from the higher published increases seen earlier this year. The increase was mainly due to rising prices for electricity, up 2.6 percent. For the same period, prices for natural gas service advanced 3.3 percent, while prices for gasoline decreased 1.4 percent.

Energy prices increased 0.5 percent over the year, the smallest over-the year increase since September 2019’s rise of 0.2 percent. The advance in the energy index was largely due to higher prices for electricity, up 4.5 percent. Offsetting the energy index rise were prices for utility (piped) gas service and prices for gasoline, down 4.1 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

In the latest 2-month period, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent. The overall index rise was led by higher prices for shelter (+0.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (+2.6 percent), and education and communication (+1.1 percent). Within the shelter index, prices rose for the owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (+0.8 percent). Partially moderating the all items less food and energy index were lower prices for medical care (-2.9 percent).

For the year ending in July, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the rise were prices for shelter (+4.4 percent) and recreation (+8.4 percent—the largest 12-month percent change increase since the index began in 1999). Within the shelter index, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index was up 4.7 percent and the index for rent of primary residence advanced 4.5 percent. Tempering the overall index in part were price declines in new and used motor vehicles (-1.0 percent) led by continued decreases in prices for used cars and trucks (-9.4 percent) and new vehicles (-1.5 percent).

The September 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on October 10, 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	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Jul. 2023	May 2024	Jun. 2024
All items		315.667		316.445	3.7	0.2
Food and beverages		307.570		311.808	4.3	1.4
Food		316.605		321.240	4.4	1.5
Food at home		294.055	298.423	299.046	4.2	1.7	0.2
Cereals and bakery products		406.782	423.677	425.096	12.9	4.5	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		312.280	310.291	314.830	3.8	0.8	1.5
Dairy and related products		279.383	280.218	282.606	-0.3	1.2	0.9
Fruits and vegetables		295.028	308.188	299.466	1.5	1.5	-2.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		267.668	264.180	261.057	3.0	-2.5	-1.2
Other food at home		248.864	252.335	256.337	4.3	3.0	1.6
Food away from home		348.075		352.198	4.7	1.2
Alcoholic beverages		222.967		223.932	1.9	0.4
Housing		328.092		330.069	3.8	0.6
Shelter		393.133	393.052	394.249	4.4	0.3	0.3
Rent of primary residence		421.636	422.720	425.189	4.5	0.8	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		403.982	405.378	405.976	4.7	0.5	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		403.982	405.378	405.976	4.7	0.5	0.1
Fuels and utilities		286.605		291.292	1.9	1.6
Household energy		225.592	237.464	230.212	1.5	2.0	-3.1
Energy services		231.503	247.263	237.980	2.4	2.8	-3.8
Electricity		256.010	275.263	262.793	4.5	2.6	-4.5
Utility (piped) gas service		167.587	175.178	173.073	-4.1	3.3	-1.2
Household furnishings and operations		127.527		130.870	0.8	2.6
Apparel		162.336		161.928	-0.2	-0.3
Transportation		279.309		276.459	2.7	-1.0
Private transportation		290.343		289.983	3.0	-0.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)		127.114		127.059	-1.0	0.0
New vehicles(1)		228.073		228.238	-1.5	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		394.748		394.412	-9.4	-0.1
Motor fuel		340.212	333.539	335.369	-0.7	-1.4	0.5
Gasoline (all types)		335.348	328.773	330.575	-0.7	-1.4	0.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		327.464	320.815	322.600	-0.9	-1.5	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		345.656	340.065	342.223	0.7	-1.0	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		361.768	356.131	357.860	0.7	-1.1	0.5
Medical care		533.844		518.512	0.6	-2.9
Recreation(3)		135.001		135.873	8.4	0.6
Education and communication(3)		168.508		170.358	3.3	1.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,688.272		1,698.514	5.6	0.6
Other goods and services		521.410		531.492	5.7	1.9
Commodity and service group
Commodities		214.973		216.766	1.5	0.8
Commodities less food and beverages		169.589		170.392	-0.3	0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages		226.268		226.293	2.1	0.0
Durables		118.229		119.367	-2.7	1.0
Services		406.150		405.863	4.8	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		283.583		284.217	3.2	0.2
All items less medical care		305.471		306.966	3.9	0.5
Commodities less food		171.786		172.596	-0.2	0.5
Nondurables		265.849		267.927	3.4	0.8
Nondurables less food		225.303		225.420	2.0	0.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)		433.955		431.555	5.4	-0.6
Services less medical care services		393.513		394.479	5.3	0.2
Energy		281.990	286.605	282.851	0.5	0.3	-1.3
All items less energy		322.543		323.327	3.9	0.2
All items less food and energy		324.840		325.006	3.8	0.1
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.