Prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 1.5 percent for the two months ending in October 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the August-October decrease was attributed to a decline in the index for all items less food and energy. Within the all items less food and energy category, price decreases were noted for lodging away from home, recreation, and household furnishings and operations. Prices were higher for medical care and tuition, other school fees, and childcare. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.9 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.4 percent. Energy prices declined 1.1 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, October 2021–October 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Oct 2021	5.5	3.5
Dec 2021	7.0	5.0
Feb 2022	7.5	6.2
Apr 2022	8.3	6.3
Jun 2022	9.7	6.1
Aug 2022	8.6	6.7
Oct 2022	8.5	6.2
Dec 2022	6.2	5.5
Feb 2023	7.0	6.8
Apr 2023	6.6	7.6
Jun 2023	4.7	7.8
Aug 2023	5.9	7.7
Oct 2023	3.4	5.6
Dec 2023	4.5	5.5
Feb 2024	2.8	3.3
Apr 2024	3.5	4.0
Jun 2024	3.4	3.8
Aug 2024	3.5	4.2
Oct 2024	3.3	3.9

Food prices increased 1.2 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) advanced 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.4 percent. The food at home index advanced 0.5 percent since a year ago. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes were higher over the year. Categories increasing included other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example), 2.4 percent; nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, 3.2 percent; dairy and related products, 2.4 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased 2.1 percent; cereals and bakery products fell 1.3 percent; and fruits and vegetables declined 1.1 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.1 percent.

The energy index declined 4.1 percent for the two months ending in October. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-5.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 0.2 percent, while prices for electricity fell 3.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 1.1 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.9 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 1.3 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service fell 1.8 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy declined 1.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for lodging away from home, recreation (-1.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent) were only partially offset by higher prices for medical care (+1.6 percent) and tuition, other school fees, and childcare (+2.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+5.7 percent), recreation (+3.0 percent), and apparel (+7.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in the new and used motor vehicles index (-0.9 percent).

The December 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area is scheduled to be released on January 15, 2025.

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 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is published bi-monthly. The set of components and sub-aggregates published for regional and metropolitan indexes is more limited than at the U.S. city average level; these indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a much smaller sample size than the national or regional indexes and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local-area indexes are more volatile than the national or regional indexes. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, Core Based Statistical Area includes Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Refer to the national CPI news release technical note or the Handbook of Methods for more information.

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.