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News Release Information

24-1712-PHI
Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

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

Area prices were up 0.2 percent over the past 2 months, up 3.7 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), 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.)

Food

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.

Energy

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.

All items less food and energy

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).

Table A. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

January

0.5 1.6 0.7 1.5 0.9 6.0 -0.3 4.4 0.5 3.6

March

-0.4 0.4 0.7 2.6 1.9 7.3 1.3 3.7 1.0 3.4

May

0.1 -0.1 1.3 3.8 1.5 7.5 0.9 3.1 0.8 3.3

July

0.6 0.8 1.2 4.4 1.1 7.5 -0.1 1.8 0.2 3.7

September

0.6 1.2 0.7 4.5 -0.2 6.5 1.3 3.3

November

0.0 1.4 1.2 5.8 0.3 5.6 -0.3 2.8

The September 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area is scheduled to be released on October 10, 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 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2024