Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.1 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.3 percent, and the food index rose 0.4 percent over the month. The energy index was down 0.8 percent in October. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residence, recreation, and rent of primary residence contributed the most to the increase. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 7.4 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent over the year. Food prices rose 12.1 percent compared to their October 2021 levels. Energy prices increased 16.2 percent, led by an increase in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the month of October. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.6 percent over the month. Prices for food at home (grocery store items) increased 0.3 percent over the same period. The increase in the index for food at home was due to increases in the cost for other food at home (+1.3 percent), meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+0.5 percent), and dairy and related products (+0.8 percent). This increase was partially offset by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, food prices rose 12.1 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 13.2 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store food group indexes contributing to the rise. The other food at home index (sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) contributed most to the increase at 16.3 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 10.0 percent over the same period.

Energy

The energy index declined 0.8 percent over the month. The decrease was due to lower prices for natural gas service (-7.8 percent), and electricity (-3.9 percent). The decline was moderated by a rise in the prices paid for gasoline (+3.9 percent).

From October 2021 to October 2022, energy prices rose 16.2 percent, mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+20.1 percent), but all energy categories contributed. Prices paid for natural gas service increased 17.4 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 8.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in October. This rise was driven mainly by higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residence (+0.7 percent), recreation (+1.5 percent), and rent of primary residence (+0.8 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-2.3 percent), medical care services (-0.4 percent), and apparel (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residence (+5.7 percent), medical care services (+5.3 percent), recreation (+7.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (+8.8 percent), and new vehicles (+9.2 percent).

Table A. Midwest region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	1.6	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2	0.8	7.9
February	0.2	1.7	0.7	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7	0.9	8.0
March	0.2	1.8	0.6	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0	1.3	8.6
April	0.4	1.8	0.3	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9	0.5	8.2
May	0.5	2.3	0.3	1.3	0.3	-0.4	1.0	5.6	1.5	8.8
June	0.2	2.5	0.0	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8	1.6	9.5
July	0.0	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9	-0.2	8.6
August	0.0	2.1	0.0	1.5	0.4	1.1	0.2	5.7	-0.2	8.1
September	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3	0.2	5.7	0.2	8.1
October	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0	0.8	6.6	0.1	7.4
November	-0.6	1.4	-0.2	1.9	-0.2	1.0	0.4	7.3
December	-0.4	1.3	0.0	2.3	0.1	1.1	0.3	7.5

The November 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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, Midwest Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
All items	275.875	276.549	276.908	7.4	0.4	0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)	448.865	449.961	450.545
Food and beverages	298.882	300.921	302.322	11.6	1.2	0.5
Food	300.558	302.844	304.053	12.1	1.2	0.4
Food at home	280.226	281.284	282.059	13.2	0.7	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	319.119	322.665	321.565	16.6	0.8	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	311.727	312.064	313.539	8.8	0.6	0.5
Dairy and related products	247.100	246.330	248.389	16.7	0.5	0.8
Fruits and vegetables	314.408	318.119	314.310	9.3	0.0	-1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	201.098	203.468	202.987	13.5	0.9	-0.2
Other food at home	246.519	245.776	248.919	16.3	1.0	1.3
Food away from home	331.994	336.646	338.681	10.0	2.0	0.6
Alcoholic beverages	275.415	274.172	278.109	5.5	1.0	1.4
Housing	268.204	269.309	268.641	6.4	0.2	-0.2
Shelter	312.253	313.166	315.262	5.3	1.0	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)	314.951	316.631	319.052	6.3	1.3	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	318.787	320.041	322.420	5.7	1.1	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	318.698	319.936	322.317	5.7	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities	289.841	292.505	279.343	10.6	-3.6	-4.5
Household energy	243.040	245.660	232.365	12.0	-4.4	-5.4
Energy services(1)	251.123	253.786	239.548	12.1	-4.6	-5.6
Electricity(1)	234.274	233.983	224.779	8.5	-4.1	-3.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	260.301	267.194	246.360	17.4	-5.4	-7.8
Household furnishings and operations	137.702	138.482	139.041	8.4	1.0	0.4
Apparel	116.773	119.482	118.272	2.9	1.3	-1.0
Transportation	260.777	258.416	260.375	11.3	-0.2	0.8
Private transportation	258.186	255.964	258.154	10.6	0.0	0.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)	128.907	128.052	127.246	7.2	-1.3	-0.6
New vehicles	166.648	167.675	168.730	9.2	1.2	0.6
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)	163.459	164.744	165.550	9.6	1.3	0.5
Used cars and trucks	212.156	203.195	198.594	2.0	-6.4	-2.3
Motor fuel	348.670	333.336	346.406	20.6	-0.6	3.9
Gasoline (all types)	345.689	330.352	343.362	20.1	-0.7	3.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	337.474	322.309	335.143	20.0	-0.7	4.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	398.108	381.023	394.966	20.5	-0.8	3.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	367.787	353.979	366.184	20.4	-0.4	3.4
Medical care	548.159	550.779	548.934	4.9	0.1	-0.3
Medical care commodities	379.551	379.831	380.431	2.9	0.2	0.2
Medical care services	604.078	607.470	604.819	5.3	0.1	-0.4
Professional services	450.651	453.126	454.035	3.7	0.8	0.2
Recreation(3)	133.604	134.222	136.241	7.4	2.0	1.5
Education and communication(3)	141.135	141.486	140.989	-0.9	-0.1	-0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,250.200	1,262.347	1,263.182	2.9	1.0	0.1
Other goods and services	491.790	494.655	495.642	6.8	0.8	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities	217.180	216.381	217.441	8.8	0.1	0.5
Commodities less food and beverages	177.936	176.259	177.147	7.3	-0.4	0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	229.356	227.508	230.235	10.3	0.4	1.2
Durables	127.773	126.411	126.249	5.0	-1.2	-0.1
Services	335.561	337.865	337.434	6.4	0.6	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	265.307	265.903	265.668	8.3	0.1	-0.1
All items less medical care	263.065	263.642	264.115	7.7	0.4	0.2
Commodities less food	181.136	179.459	180.420	7.2	-0.4	0.5
Nondurables	263.472	263.447	265.564	11.0	0.8	0.8
Nondurables less food	231.611	229.800	232.593	10.0	0.4	1.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)	370.282	374.245	370.880	7.5	0.2	-0.9
Services less medical care services	315.572	317.802	317.552	6.6	0.6	-0.1
Energy	290.436	285.462	283.218	16.2	-2.5	-0.8
All items less energy	278.106	279.303	280.112	6.7	0.7	0.3
All items less food and energy	275.106	276.126	276.873	5.8	0.6	0.3
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.