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News Release Information

22-178-KAN
Thursday, February 10, 2022

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

Consumer Price Index, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area – January 2022

Area prices rose 1.4 percent in December and January, up 7.9 percent over the year

Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in January 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that a 1.5-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy accounted for most of the rise, but higher prices for food also contributed. In contrast, the energy index declined during the period. (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 7.9 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 7.0 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 24.9 percent, while food prices advanced 7.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.4 percent for the two months ending in January. The index for food away from home advanced 3.1 percent, while the index for food at home increased 1.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.3 percent. Prices for food away from home (which includes restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 9.8 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.5 percent over the year, mainly due to an increase in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.

Energy

The energy index declined 3.2 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-6.3 percent), as prices for electricity were unchanged over the two-month period.

Energy prices jumped 24.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+38.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 2.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for medical care (+6.5 percent), shelter (+0.5 percent) and used cars and trucks (+6.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for tuition, other school fees and childcare (-2.1 percent) and recreation (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 7.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+5.1 percent), medical care (+12.1 percent) and used cars and trucks (+43.4 percent).

The March 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures 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 GroupIndexesPercent change from -
Nov.
2021
Dec.
2021
Jan.
2022
Jan.
2021
Nov.
2021
Dec.
2021

All items

289.621-293.5807.91.4-

All items (1967 = 100)

965.766-978.967   

Food and beverages

261.791-267.9817.02.4-

Food

267.397-273.8807.32.4-

Food at home

245.520246.100250.2485.51.91.7

Cereals and bakery products

286.173-293.0273.72.4-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

258.948-262.48010.91.4-

Dairy and related products

203.107-214.5353.45.6-

Fruits and vegetables

275.950-280.9440.01.8-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

166.294-168.4642.31.3-

Other food at home

222.497-225.0086.91.1-

Food away from home

296.955-306.1719.83.1-

Alcoholic beverages

212.057-215.6162.91.7-

Housing

287.018-288.8325.10.6-

Shelter

331.456334.454333.1485.20.5-0.4

Rent of primary residence

341.665343.040344.3255.00.80.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

328.566329.801329.3275.10.2-0.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

328.566329.801329.3275.10.2-0.1

Fuels and utilities

250.529-253.8376.81.3-

Household energy

165.143166.447167.3708.41.30.6

Energy services

163.564164.642165.4128.31.10.5

Electricity

161.534161.534161.5342.40.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

------

Household furnishings and operations

132.383-133.7753.81.1-

Apparel

106.683-111.7589.74.8-

Transportation

304.061-307.55321.11.1-

Private transportation

304.598-308.04021.01.1-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

------

New vehicles(1)

------

Used cars and trucks(1)

391.210-414.57143.46.0-

Motor fuel

290.382278.511272.39238.5-6.2-2.2

Gasoline (all types)

288.705276.780270.50838.4-6.3-2.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

281.102268.931262.65939.7-6.6-2.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

283.127272.688267.03735.3-5.7-2.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

311.974301.353295.34532.8-5.3-2.0

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

3,196.227-----

Medical care

664.571-707.53012.16.5-

Recreation(3)

168.570-167.6546.0-0.5-

Education and communication(3)

125.888-124.293-2.2-1.3-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,109.925-1,087.051-1.3-2.1-

Other goods and services

398.302-419.0348.65.2-

Commodity and service group

Commodities

194.842-199.56812.72.4-

Commodities less food and beverages

160.349-164.28216.22.5-

Nondurables less food and beverages

192.402-195.63216.61.7-

Durables

127.131-131.39215.93.4-

Services

372.657-375.5485.30.8-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

269.491-274.4959.41.9-

All items less medical care

272.562-275.1897.61.0-

Commodities less food

162.543-166.47715.62.4-

Nondurables

227.585-232.20311.32.0-

Nondurables less food

193.639-196.85715.41.7-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

427.226-431.9825.51.1-

Services less medical care services

347.618-349.2484.90.5-

Energy

222.487217.512215.42724.9-3.2-1.0

All items less energy

297.484-302.3647.01.6-

All items less food and energy

303.878-308.5437.01.5-

(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, February 10, 2022