Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.7 percent for the two months ending in July 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the food index increased 3.2 percent, and the energy index increased 8.9 percent in June and July. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.0 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and new and used motor vehicles. (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 8.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.6 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 23.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline, while food prices rose 12.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

 Food

Food prices advanced 3.2 percent for the two months ending in July. The index for food at home (groceries) increased 4.0 percent, partly due to price increases for other food at home (+5.4 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+2.8 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 2.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 12.0 percent, with five of the six major grocery store food indexes rising more than 10 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 13.6 percent over the year, partly due to a 15.6-percent increase in the indexes for other food at home (which includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils) and a 14.3-percent increase for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 9.8 percent over the past 12 months.

Energy

The energy index advanced 8.9 percent for the two months ending in July. The increase was mainly due to a rise in prices for gasoline (+15.0 percent), but prices for electricity (+2.1 percent) also contributed.

From July 2021 to July 2022, energy prices rose 23.8 percent.  A rise in the index for gasoline (+33.9 percent) was the main factor in the increase over the year, but the index for electricity (+8.2 percent) also contributed.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (+1.6 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+1.7 percent), and recreation (+1.4 percent) were among the components contributing most to the rise. These increases were partially offset by lower prices for public transportation.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.6 percent. Components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.6 percent), medical care (+11.2 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (+9.1 percent).

The September 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 13, 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 -
	May 2022	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022	Jul. 2021	May 2022	Jun. 2022
All items	303.510	-	308.728	8.2	1.7	-
All items (1967 = 100)	1,012.081	-	1,029.480
Food and beverages	277.286	-	286.240	11.6	3.2	-
Food	283.828	-	292.930	12.0	3.2	-
Food at home	263.558	267.860	274.084	13.6	4.0	2.3
Cereals and bakery products	311.246	-	325.998	15.0	4.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	275.523	-	283.350	14.3	2.8	-
Dairy and related products	224.381	-	234.886	14.0	4.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	299.125	-	305.635	7.7	2.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	181.497	-	188.873	14.7	4.1	-
Other food at home	233.645	-	246.352	15.6	5.4	-
Food away from home	310.430	-	317.014	9.8	2.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	219.173	-	226.810	7.6	3.5	-
Housing	299.236	-	303.137	7.1	1.3	-
Shelter	344.722	347.741	350.082	6.8	1.6	0.7
Rent of primary residence	355.358	359.655	362.688	7.8	2.1	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	340.761	342.311	344.462	6.6	1.1	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	340.761	342.311	344.462	6.6	1.1	0.6
Fuels and utilities	263.392	-	265.122	8.9	0.7	-
Household energy	174.505	174.849	176.419	10.6	1.1	0.9
Energy services	172.172	172.272	174.211	10.4	1.2	1.1
Electricity	170.893	170.893	174.454	8.2	2.1	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	139.693	-	139.601	8.4	-0.1	-
Apparel	111.493	-	110.729	2.3	-0.7	-
Transportation	327.218	-	337.835	12.9	3.2	-
Private transportation	324.114	-	336.648	12.5	3.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	132.765	-	134.964	9.1	1.7	-
New vehicles(1)	243.208	-	246.715	10.4	1.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	412.554	-	423.884	8.9	2.7	-
Motor fuel	347.904	405.185	397.705	34.8	14.3	-1.8
Gasoline (all types)	342.012	400.657	393.196	33.9	15.0	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	334.135	393.446	385.665	34.8	15.4	-2.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	332.508	385.011	379.233	32.3	14.1	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	364.015	417.402	411.617	30.2	13.1	-1.4
Medical care	702.833	-	707.674	11.2	0.7	-
Recreation(3)	171.545	-	173.867	3.6	1.4	-
Education and communication(3)	126.120	-	126.358	0.5	0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,111.119	-	1,115.946	1.5	0.4	-
Other goods and services	424.914	-	426.899	7.2	0.5	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	206.979	-	213.586	11.8	3.2	-
Commodities less food and beverages	170.595	-	176.007	11.8	3.2	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	210.666	-	222.429	16.9	5.6	-
Durables	132.630	-	134.262	8.4	1.2	-
Services	387.545	-	390.949	6.3	0.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	283.640	-	288.776	9.0	1.8	-
All items less medical care	285.430	-	290.572	8.0	1.8	-
Commodities less food	172.723	-	178.225	11.6	3.2	-
Nondurables	244.616	-	255.134	13.9	4.3	-
Nondurables less food	210.898	-	222.290	16.0	5.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	444.058	-	444.197	5.5	0.0	-
Services less medical care services	361.161	-	364.520	6.0	0.9	-
Energy	252.057	276.863	274.573	23.8	8.9	-0.8
All items less energy	310.249	-	314.131	7.3	1.3	-
All items less food and energy	316.146	-	319.225	6.6	1.0	-
(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.