Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.0 percent for the two months ending in March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the food index increased 0.8 percent, and the energy index advanced 15.0 percent in February and March. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.4 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for owners’ equivalent rent of residences and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 9.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 8.0 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 28.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline, while food prices advanced 9.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in March. The index for food at home (groceries) increased 2.2 percent, while the index for food away from home fell 1.0 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 9.1 percent. Prices for food at home increased 8.2 percent over the year, mainly due to an increase in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home (which includes restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 10.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 15.0 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+19.9 percent), with higher prices for electricity (+12.4 percent) also contributing.

From March 2021 to March 2022, energy prices jumped 28.1 percent, with all energy components contributing. Higher prices for gasoline (+36.0 percent) were the main factor in the increase over the year, but rising electricity prices (+15.1 percent) also contributed.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (+2.4 percent), recreation (+1.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+2.1 percent) were among the components most contributing to the rise. These increases were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-2.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 8.0 percent. Components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.9 percent), used cars and trucks (+38.8 percent), and medical care (+7.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in education and communication (-1.6 percent).

The May 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on June 10, 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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. 2022	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022
All items	293.580	-	299.529	9.1	2.0	-
All items (1967 = 100)	978.967	-	998.806
Food and beverages	267.981	-	270.236	8.8	0.8	-
Food	273.880	-	276.168	9.1	0.8	-
Food at home	250.248	251.897	255.764	8.2	2.2	1.5
Cereals and bakery products	293.027	-	306.377	7.3	4.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	262.480	-	267.009	14.5	1.7	-
Dairy and related products	214.535	-	210.724	2.3	-1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	280.944	-	287.811	3.8	2.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	168.464	-	170.543	4.4	1.2	-
Other food at home	225.008	-	232.555	9.5	3.4	-
Food away from home	306.171	-	303.158	10.2	-1.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	215.616	-	217.577	5.1	0.9	-
Housing	288.832	-	296.626	7.9	2.7	-
Shelter	333.148	337.551	341.139	7.1	2.4	1.1
Rent of primary residence	344.325	350.772	353.457	6.5	2.7	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	329.327	333.395	336.952	6.9	2.3	1.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	329.327	333.395	336.952	6.9	2.3	1.1
Fuels and utilities	253.837	-	270.718	13.6	6.7	-
Household energy	167.370	168.227	181.480	17.2	8.4	7.9
Energy services	165.412	166.306	179.189	16.9	8.3	7.7
Electricity	161.534	161.534	181.559	15.1	12.4	12.4
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	133.775	-	136.578	10.1	2.1	-
Apparel	111.758	-	114.934	3.9	2.8	-
Transportation	307.553	-	317.784	21.7	3.3	-
Private transportation	308.040	-	318.144	20.6	3.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	414.571	-	412.490	38.8	-0.5	-
Motor fuel	272.392	277.179	328.437	36.7	20.6	18.5
Gasoline (all types)	270.508	275.023	324.449	36.0	19.9	18.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	262.659	267.056	316.711	37.2	20.6	18.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	267.037	270.842	315.730	33.3	18.2	16.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	295.345	300.262	346.553	31.5	17.3	15.4
Medical care	707.530	-	693.446	7.6	-2.0	-
Recreation(3)	167.654	-	170.916	6.7	1.9	-
Education and communication(3)	124.293	-	125.906	-1.6	1.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,087.051	-	1,110.219	-0.5	2.1	-
Other goods and services	419.034	-	422.265	9.6	0.8	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	199.568	-	203.054	12.6	1.7	-
Commodities less food and beverages	164.282	-	167.949	14.9	2.2	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	195.632	-	206.933	14.6	5.8	-
Durables	131.392	-	130.809	16.4	-0.4	-
Services	375.548	-	383.756	7.3	2.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	274.495	-	279.488	10.3	1.8	-
All items less medical care	275.189	-	281.691	9.3	2.4	-
Commodities less food	166.477	-	170.102	14.4	2.2	-
Nondurables	232.203	-	239.253	11.4	3.0	-
Nondurables less food	196.857	-	207.352	13.8	5.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	431.982	-	440.124	7.4	1.9	-
Services less medical care services	349.248	-	357.660	7.4	2.4	-
Energy	215.427	217.987	247.797	28.1	15.0	13.7
All items less energy	302.364	-	306.256	8.1	1.3	-
All items less food and energy	308.543	-	312.710	8.0	1.4	-
(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.