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News Release Information

19-1744-KAN
Thursday, October 10, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Consumer Price Index, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood – September 2019

Area prices up 1.4 percent over the past two months; up 2.7 percent over the year

Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.4 percent for the two months ending in September 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the September increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 2.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.7 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 1.9 percent. Energy prices decreased 8.2 percent, largely the result of decreases in prices for gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.3 percent for the two months ending in September. Prices for food at home and food away from home each rose 1.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.9 percent. Prices for food at home were unchanged since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 4.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index was unchanged for the two months ending in September. Higher prices for electricity (5.1 percent) were offset by lower prices for gasoline (-2.4 percent) for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 8.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-12.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 0.8 percent, while prices for natural gas service declined 8.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (14.8 percent) and shelter (2.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.5 percent) and recreation (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (6.5 percent) and medical care (4.2 percent).

CPI-W

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area for September 2019 was 260.022.  The CPI-W increased 1.1 percent over the two months and rose 2.0 percent over the year.

The November 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on December 11, 2019.


Technical Note

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total 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, and 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at ww.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon requestVoice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods,
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and GroupIndexesPercent change from -
Jul.
2019
Aug.
2019
Sep.
2019
Sep.
2018
Jul.
2019
Aug.
2019

All items

267.285-270.9742.71.4-

All items (1967 = 100)

891.285-903.585   

Food and beverages

237.507-240.2891.61.2-

Food

241.567-244.7141.91.3-

Food at home

226.633226.615229.5940.01.31.3

Cereals and bakery products

282.669-283.046-2.60.1-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

213.071-216.364-0.81.5-

Dairy and related products

197.261-191.897-1.2-2.7-

Fruits and vegetables

276.575-289.3253.34.6-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

154.694-155.2574.60.4-

Other food at home

204.468-207.161-1.71.3-

Food away from home

260.680-264.0664.01.3-

Alcoholic beverages

202.926-201.794-1.6-0.6-

Housing

269.234-275.4965.32.3-

Shelter

313.077317.208320.5236.52.41.0

Rent of primary residence

325.250327.591330.7054.21.71.0

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

306.471309.847311.8085.91.70.6

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

306.471309.847311.8085.91.70.6

Fuels and utilities

241.411-247.679-0.32.6-

Household energy

161.235161.215166.792-2.13.43.5

Energy services

159.945159.945165.560-2.13.53.5

Electricity

167.887167.887176.4150.85.15.1

Utility (piped) gas service

146.836146.836146.836-8.20.00.0

Household furnishings and operations

115.850-117.712-0.91.6-

Apparel

91.832-105.4282.714.8-

Transportation

263.604-258.410-2.1-2.0-

Private transportation

257.428-254.540-1.7-1.1-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

110.580-108.7382.0-1.7-

New vehicles(1)

222.794-222.8843.90.0-

Used cars and trucks(1)

274.911-267.9504.4-2.5-

Motor fuel

222.042208.825216.865-12.1-2.33.9

Gasoline (all types)

220.500207.283215.277-12.1-2.43.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

212.866199.962208.022-12.4-2.34.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

220.311207.086214.101-12.1-2.83.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

247.063233.126240.208-10.4-2.83.0

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

2,856.141-2,856.1413.50.0-

Medical care

613.541-621.7354.21.3-

Recreation(3)

161.947-161.4950.4-0.3-

Education and communication(3)

123.013-123.6580.10.5-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,063.647-1,086.9012.32.2-

Other goods and services

370.303-370.0732.8-0.1-

Commodity and service group

Commodities

172.214-174.7660.31.5-

Commodities less food and beverages

139.546-141.879-0.51.7-

Nondurables less food and beverages

169.368-173.102-3.42.2-

Durables

109.265-110.4742.81.1-

Services

352.012-356.6904.01.3-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

245.491-247.3950.60.8-

All items less medical care

251.534-255.0152.61.4-

Commodities less food

142.024-144.268-0.61.6-

Nondurables

203.604-206.951-0.71.6-

Nondurables less food

171.570-174.986-3.32.0-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

403.783-403.6140.90.0-

Services less medical care services

329.720-333.9653.91.3-

Energy

187.441180.796187.460-8.20.03.7

All items less energy

275.988-280.0203.51.5-

All items less food and energy

283.019-287.2173.71.5-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a January 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) Index on a December 1993=100 base.

- Data not available.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, October 10, 2019