Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.3 percent for the two months ending in May 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the food index increased 2.8 percent, and the energy index rose 1.7 percent in April and May. The all items less food and energy index advanced 1.1 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 household furnishings and operations. (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 8.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.1 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 24.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline, while food prices rose 9.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 2.8 percent for the two months ending in May. The index for food at home (groceries) increased 3.0 percent, with the largest price increases in meats, poultry, fish and eggs and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials.  Prices for food away from home rose 2.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 9.8 percent. Prices for food at home jumped 10.6 percent over the year, mainly due to an increase in prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage material. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 8.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.7 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+5.4 percent). This increase was partially offset by lower prices for electricity (-5.9 percent).

From May 2021 to May 2022, energy prices jumped 24.7 percent, with all energy components contributing. Higher prices for gasoline (+33.7 percent) were the main factor in the increase over the year, but rising electricity prices (+5.5 percent) also contributed.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (+1.1 percent), household furnishings and operations (+2.3 percent), and medical care (+1.4 percent) were among the components contributing most to the rise. These increases were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.1 percent. The components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+7.4 percent), medical care (+10.3 percent) and used cars and trucks (+18.9 percent).

The July 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on August 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 -
	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	May 2022	May 2021	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022
All items	299.529	-	303.510	8.3	1.3	-
All items (1967 = 100)	998.806	-	1,012.081
Food and beverages	270.236	-	277.286	9.4	2.6	-
Food	276.168	-	283.828	9.8	2.8	-
Food at home	255.764	259.975	263.558	10.6	3.0	1.4
Cereals and bakery products	306.377	-	311.246	8.8	1.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	267.009	-	275.523	17.2	3.2	-
Dairy and related products	210.724	-	224.381	8.0	6.5	-
Fruits and vegetables	287.811	-	299.125	6.1	3.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	170.543	-	181.497	11.8	6.4	-
Other food at home	232.555	-	233.645	8.7	0.5	-
Food away from home	303.158	-	310.430	8.6	2.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	217.577	-	219.173	4.8	0.7	-
Housing	296.626	-	299.236	7.2	0.9	-
Shelter	341.139	342.544	344.722	7.2	1.1	0.6
Rent of primary residence	353.457	354.753	355.358	6.5	0.5	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	336.952	337.712	340.761	7.4	1.1	0.9
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	336.952	337.712	340.761	7.4	1.1	0.9
Fuels and utilities	270.718	-	263.392	9.9	-2.7	-
Household energy	181.480	180.344	174.505	11.7	-3.8	-3.2
Energy services	179.189	178.120	172.172	11.4	-3.9	-3.3
Electricity	181.559	181.559	170.893	5.5	-5.9	-5.9
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	136.578	-	139.693	5.7	2.3	-
Apparel	114.934	-	111.493	-0.3	-3.0	-
Transportation	317.784	-	327.218	16.1	3.0	-
Private transportation	318.144	-	324.114	16.4	1.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	-	-	132.765	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	243.208	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	412.490	-	412.554	18.9	0.0	-
Motor fuel	328.437	335.569	347.904	35.2	5.9	3.7
Gasoline (all types)	324.449	330.611	342.012	33.7	5.4	3.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	316.711	322.572	334.135	34.7	5.5	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	315.730	322.262	332.508	32.0	5.3	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	346.553	353.827	364.015	29.8	5.0	2.9
Medical care	693.446	-	702.833	10.3	1.4	-
Recreation(3)	170.916	-	171.545	6.0	0.4	-
Education and communication(3)	125.906	-	126.120	-0.6	0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,110.219	-	1,111.119	-0.4	0.1	-
Other goods and services	422.265	-	424.914	9.5	0.6	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	203.054	-	206.979	11.9	1.9	-
Commodities less food and beverages	167.949	-	170.595	13.3	1.6	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	206.933	-	210.666	14.8	1.8	-
Durables	130.809	-	132.630	13.1	1.4	-
Services	383.756	-	387.545	6.4	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	279.488	-	283.640	9.0	1.5	-
All items less medical care	281.691	-	285.430	8.2	1.3	-
Commodities less food	170.102	-	172.723	13.0	1.5	-
Nondurables	239.253	-	244.616	11.8	2.2	-
Nondurables less food	207.352	-	210.898	13.9	1.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	440.124	-	444.058	5.4	0.9	-
Services less medical care services	357.660	-	361.161	6.2	1.0	-
Energy	247.797	250.192	252.057	24.7	1.7	0.7
All items less energy	306.256	-	310.249	7.4	1.3	-
All items less food and energy	312.710	-	316.146	7.1	1.1	-
(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.