Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.1 percent for the two months ending in May 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the May increase was most influenced by higher prices for 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 advanced 3.2 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year, while energy prices surged 34.6 percent. During the same period, food prices rose 2.3 percent.(See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 2.1 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 3.9 percent and prices for food at home rose 0.8 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.3 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.4 percent and food at home rose 0.8 percent, since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.5 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.2 percent). Prices for electricity rose 2.6 percent, for the same period.

Energy prices surged 34.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (68.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 2.6 percent, during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.9 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.0 percent) and used cars and trucks (16.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-1.1 percent) and education and communication (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (26.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (28.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in recreation (-13.9 percent).

The July 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 11, 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 -
	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	May 2021	May 2020	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021
All items	274.430	-	280.154	3.2	2.1	-
All items (1967 = 100)	915.110	-	934.198
Food and beverages	248.385	-	253.507	2.4	2.1	-
Food	253.114	-	258.555	2.3	2.1	-
Food at home	236.291	234.618	238.262	0.8	0.8	1.6
Cereals and bakery products	285.620	-	286.091	-1.1	0.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	233.286	-	235.080	-2.1	0.8	-
Dairy and related products	205.940	-	207.665	2.5	0.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	277.166	-	281.880	-0.9	1.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	163.377	-	162.332	-2.1	-0.6	-
Other food at home	212.392	-	214.910	7.0	1.2	-
Food away from home	275.135	-	285.818	4.4	3.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	207.054	-	209.124	2.7	1.0	-
Housing	274.870	-	279.172	1.4	1.6	-
Shelter	318.558	319.991	321.700	0.5	1.0	0.5
Rent of primary residence	332.017	333.496	333.535	0.0	0.5	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	315.171	316.315	317.228	1.3	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	315.171	316.315	317.228	1.3	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	238.366	-	239.678	1.5	0.6	-
Household energy	154.910	155.049	156.188	3.1	0.8	0.7
Energy services	153.239	153.387	154.542	3.1	0.9	0.8
Electricity	157.806	161.552	161.941	2.6	2.6	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	124.079	-	132.115	7.6	6.5	-
Apparel	110.647	-	111.847	26.4	1.1	-
Transportation	261.063	-	281.928	17.4	8.0	-
Private transportation	263.732	-	278.350	17.5	5.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	105.028	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	201.554	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	297.244	-	346.846	28.6	16.7	-
Motor fuel	240.224	248.963	257.352	68.1	7.1	3.4
Gasoline (all types)	238.497	247.187	255.725	68.8	7.2	3.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	230.900	239.204	247.991	71.9	7.4	3.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	236.828	245.857	251.901	57.2	6.4	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	263.555	273.734	280.548	55.4	6.4	2.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	3,145.929	-	3,145.929	27.3	0.0	-
Medical care	644.336	-	637.353	0.9	-1.1	-
Recreation(3)	160.142	-	161.872	-13.9	1.1	-
Education and communication(3)	127.937	-	126.838	2.0	-0.9	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,116.080	-	1,116.080	2.6	0.0	-
Other goods and services	385.214	-	387.899	3.1	0.7	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	180.305	-	185.011	7.4	2.6	-
Commodities less food and beverages	146.205	-	150.505	10.7	2.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	180.519	-	183.531	18.8	1.7	-
Durables	112.345	-	117.262	3.0	4.4	-
Services	357.734	-	364.184	1.1	1.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	253.337	-	260.196	4.8	2.7	-
All items less medical care	257.702	-	263.865	3.5	2.4	-
Commodities less food	148.639	-	152.883	10.4	2.9	-
Nondurables	214.802	-	218.836	9.4	1.9	-
Nondurables less food	182.248	-	185.191	17.4	1.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	409.730	-	421.160	1.8	2.8	-
Services less medical care services	333.081	-	340.025	0.9	2.1	-
Energy	193.414	197.639	202.209	34.6	4.5	2.3
All items less energy	283.293	-	288.815	1.9	1.9	-
All items less food and energy	289.639	-	295.200	1.8	1.9	-
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.