Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in March 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the March increase was due to higher prices for energy and all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.6 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent, while food prices increased 1.8 percent. During the same period, energy prices surged 18.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home decreased 1.3 percent and food at home declined 0.4 percent during the period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.8 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 2.6 percent and prices for food at home advanced 1.2 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index escalated 12.2 percent for the two months ending in March. Higher prices for gasoline led the advance with an increase of 22.1 percent. Prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices rose 18.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (35.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity were unchanged during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (8.6 percent), shelter (0.6 percent), and medical care (2.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-3.7 percent) and new vehicles (-4.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (17.8 percent) and medical care (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new vehicles (-7.9 percent) and shelter (-0.6 percent).

The May 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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, 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; 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 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice 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 Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Mar. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021
All items	272.156	-	274.430	1.6	0.8	-
All items (1967 = 100)	907.527	-	915.110
Food and beverages	250.529	-	248.385	1.8	-0.9	-
Food	255.223	-	253.114	1.8	-0.8	-
Food at home	237.310	235.231	236.291	1.2	-0.4	0.5
Cereals and bakery products	282.524	-	285.620	-0.7	1.1	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	236.653	-	233.286	5.7	-1.4	-
Dairy and related products	207.432	-	205.940	-2.3	-0.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	280.945	-	277.166	-2.2	-1.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	164.628	-	163.377	-1.3	-0.8	-
Other food at home	210.478	-	212.392	2.8	0.9	-
Food away from home	278.884	-	275.135	2.6	-1.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	209.597	-	207.054	1.4	-1.2	-
Housing	274.759	-	274.870	-0.3	0.0	-
Shelter	316.795	317.723	318.558	-0.6	0.6	0.3
Rent of primary residence	327.998	329.765	332.017	0.0	1.2	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	313.247	315.380	315.171	0.3	0.6	-0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	313.247	315.380	315.171	0.3	0.6	-0.1
Fuels and utilities	237.695	-	238.366	-0.2	0.3	-
Household energy	154.399	154.660	154.910	0.6	0.3	0.2
Energy services	152.762	152.999	153.239	0.8	0.3	0.2
Electricity	157.806	157.806	157.806	0.0	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	128.897	-	124.079	1.7	-3.7	-
Apparel	101.889	-	110.647	17.8	8.6	-
Transportation	253.958	-	261.063	4.9	2.8	-
Private transportation	254.531	-	263.732	6.6	3.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	107.208	-	105.028	-2.1	-2.0	-
New vehicles(1)	211.504	-	201.554	-7.9	-4.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	289.065	-	297.244	8.5	2.8	-
Motor fuel	196.672	204.405	240.224	35.3	22.1	17.5
Gasoline (all types)	195.406	202.991	238.497	35.8	22.1	17.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	188.016	195.456	230.900	37.5	22.8	18.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	197.394	203.977	236.828	29.2	20.0	16.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	222.336	230.309	263.555	28.3	18.5	14.4
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	3,080.901	-	3,145.929	3.9	2.1	-
Medical care	631.437	-	644.336	2.4	2.0	-
Recreation(3)	158.160	-	160.142	-1.4	1.3	-
Education and communication(3)	127.041	-	127.937	2.9	0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,101.129	-	1,116.080	2.6	1.4	-
Other goods and services	385.770	-	385.214	1.3	-0.1	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	177.152	-	180.305	4.2	1.8	-
Commodities less food and beverages	141.341	-	146.205	5.7	3.4	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	167.746	-	180.519	11.8	7.6	-
Durables	113.358	-	112.345	-0.3	-0.9	-
Services	356.546	-	357.734	0.2	0.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	250.844	-	253.337	2.9	1.0	-
All items less medical care	255.858	-	257.702	1.5	0.7	-
Commodities less food	143.991	-	148.639	5.5	3.2	-
Nondurables	208.689	-	214.802	6.2	2.9	-
Nondurables less food	170.562	-	182.248	10.9	6.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	409.507	-	409.730	1.4	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	332.909	-	333.081	-0.1	0.1	-
Energy	172.455	176.264	193.414	18.6	12.2	9.7
All items less energy	282.515	-	283.293	0.8	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	288.371	-	289.639	0.7	0.4	-
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.