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News Release Information

24-1914-PHI
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson – August 2024

Area prices were up 0.5 percent over the past 2 months, up 3.0 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.5 percent for the 2 months ending in August 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted the increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and other goods and services, both of which are index sub-components. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.8 percent while the food index increased 0.2 percent in the same period. The energy index decreased 2.9 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.) (See table A.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.0 percent, mostly due to a 3.6-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index. The food index was up 2.7 percent, and the energy index decreased 2.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.2 percent for the 2 months ending in August 2024. The food at home index increased 0.4 percent due to higher prices for cereals and bakery products (1.6 percent), meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (0.7 percent) and other food at home (0.3 percent). Two grocery categories declined — nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-0.5 percent) and fruits and vegetables (-0.2 percent). The food away from home index had no change.

Over the year, the food index rose 2.7 percent as prices for food away from home were up 4.2 percent. The food at home index increased 1.5 percent due to higher prices for cereals and bakery products, up 5.1 percent – the largest increase since April 2023, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (2.8 percent), and fruits and vegetables (1.0 percent). In the same period, prices for other food at home declined -0.6 percent.

Energy

In the two months ending in August, the energy index decreased 2.9 percent. The energy index decline was mainly due to falling prices for gasoline (-5.7 percent). Utility (piped) gas service decreased 2.6 percent. Prices for electricity were up 0.3 percent.

From August 2023 to August 2024 the energy index declined 2.1 percent due largely to the gasoline index decreasing 10.9 percent. The electricity index increased 5.5 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index rose 14.4 percent, down from the recent 23.6-percent peak in June.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent in the two months ending in August 2024, reflecting increases throughout many categories within the index. The shelter index was up 0.9 percent—within shelter, lodging away from home prices increased along with the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index (0.4 percent) and the rent of primary residence index (0.8 percent). The other goods and services index rose 3.8 percent. The apparel index increased 2.3 percent in the same period. Countering the rises were lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.2 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent) due to lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 3.6 percent, led by a 4.7-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, a 4.1-percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index, a 4.6-percent rise in the rent of primary residence index, and higher prices for lodging away from home contributed to the shelter index increase. Also contributing to the increase was the medical index, increasing 4.8 percent due to higher prices for both medical care commodities and medical care services. Tempering the all items less food and energy index rise was the new and used motor vehicles index down 4.4 percent — the largest decrease since the index began in 2018, as prices for used cars and trucks declined 8.6 percent (continuing the trend of price decreases that started in December 2022) and new vehicle prices decreased 1.7 percent. The household furnishings and operations index declined 7.1 percent.

Table A. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, 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

February

0.5 1.8 0.1 1.1 1.3 9.3 1.2 6.1 1.7 2.6

April

-0.1 0.1 1.8 2.9 1.6 9.1 0.7 5.3 1.0 2.9

June

-0.4 0.4 1.1 4.5 2.6 10.6 0.2 2.8 0.3 3.0

August

0.5 0.7 0.5 4.5 0.1 10.2 0.5 3.1 0.5 3.0

October

0.6 1.3 2.3 6.3 0.7 8.4 -0.2 2.2

December

0.2 1.4 1.8 8.0 -0.1 6.3 -0.3 2.1

The October 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2024.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 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 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties, as well as Baltimore City, 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, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, 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

315.803   317.366 3.0 0.5  

Food and beverages

334.049   335.111 2.7 0.3  

Food

334.159   334.904 2.7 0.2  

Food at home

292.657 291.884 293.759 1.5 0.4 0.6

Cereals and bakery products

365.112 367.813 370.802 5.1 1.6 0.8

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

300.933 298.634 303.105 2.8 0.7 1.5

Dairy and related products

273.598 268.805 273.739 0.2 0.1 1.8

Fruits and vegetables

314.466 319.671 313.690 1.0 -0.2 -1.9

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

219.612 217.531 218.594 0.6 -0.5 0.5

Other food at home

274.050 272.019 274.945 -0.6 0.3 1.1

Food away from home

392.346   392.478 4.2 0.0  

Alcoholic beverages

328.259   333.175 3.1 1.5  

Housing(1)

316.917   319.023 3.5 0.7  

Shelter

372.445 374.296 375.806 4.7 0.9 0.4

Rent of primary residence

432.195 433.209 435.514 4.6 0.8 0.5

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

392.457 393.735 394.160 4.1 0.4 0.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

392.457 393.735 394.160 4.1 0.4 0.1

Fuels and utilities

316.362   318.096 5.7 0.5  

Household energy

281.658 284.573 282.223 6.5 0.2 -0.8

Energy services

303.164 306.156 303.293 6.2 0.0 -0.9

Electricity

285.039 287.888 285.785 5.5 0.3 -0.7

Utility (piped) gas service

245.092 247.140 238.791 14.4 -2.6 -3.4

Household furnishings and operations

136.513   134.912 -7.1 -1.2  

Apparel

125.101   128.016 -2.1 2.3  

Transportation

287.335   284.881 2.3 -0.9  

Private transportation

295.097   291.963 2.2 -1.1  

New and used motor vehicles(3)

135.754   134.262 -4.4 -1.1  

New vehicles(1)

277.262   276.355 -1.7 -0.3  

Used cars and trucks(1)

320.483   316.182 -8.6 -1.3  

Motor fuel

311.588 309.955 293.622 -11.1 -5.8 -5.3

Gasoline (all types)

304.930 303.222 287.429 -10.9 -5.7 -5.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

308.388 306.433 289.944 -11.3 -6.0 -5.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

330.862 329.339 315.572 -8.7 -4.6 -4.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

315.633 315.298 301.952 -8.2 -4.3 -4.2

Medical care

519.018   522.241 4.8 0.6  

Recreation

148.877   149.092 4.5 0.1  

Education and communication(3)

161.705   163.573 0.7 1.2  

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

1,384.338   1,419.940 4.9 2.6  

Other goods and services

548.164   568.731 8.2 3.8  

Commodity and service group

Commodities

232.177   231.074 -1.3 -0.5  

Commodities less food and beverages

186.925   185.039 -3.3 -1.0  

Nondurables less food and beverages

236.579   234.308 -2.2 -1.0  

Durables

132.183   130.773 -5.4 -1.1  

Services

397.583   401.804 5.9 1.1  

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

295.067   295.888 2.2 0.3  

All items less medical care

305.681   307.159 2.9 0.5  

Commodities less food

191.193   189.493 -3.1 -0.9  

Nondurables

281.274   280.565 0.7 -0.3  

Nondurables less food

241.460   239.643 -1.8 -0.8  

Services less rent of shelter(2)

440.457   446.018 7.3 1.3  

Services less medical care services

386.400   390.061 6.0 0.9  

Energy(1)

306.805 307.527 298.031 -2.1 -2.9 -3.1

All items less energy

318.546   320.921 3.4 0.7  

All items less food and energy

316.276   318.922 3.6 0.8  

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a March 1978=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, September 11, 2024