Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton — March 2021

Area prices up 0.9 percent over two months; up 1.3 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Boston area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9 percent for the two months ending in March 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table) Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for energy. (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 1.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table) Energy prices rose 8.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices advanced 3.7 percent.

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Mar. 2018-Mar. 2021

Food

Food prices rose 0.7 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table) Prices for food away from home advanced 2.6 percent, and prices for food at home declined 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 3.7 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 8.7 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 0.4 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 8.6 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (19.0 percent). Prices for electricity increased 1.7 percent, while prices for natural gas service declined 1.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 8.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (12.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 7.3 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (0.4 percent) and apparel (3.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.2 percent) and education and communication (2.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in recreation (-6.4 percent), apparel (-6.6 percent), and medical care (-2.2 percent).

CPI-W

In March, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 288.652. The CPI-W increased 1.1 percent over two months and increased 1.5 percent over the year.

The May 2021 Consumer Price Index for Boston-Cambridge-Newton area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on March 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in March was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available atwww.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts; Rockingham, Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Ma.-N.H. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
Expenditure category	Historical data	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Mar. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021
All items		286.615		289.240	1.3	0.9
All items (1967 = 100)		833.053		840.685

Food and beverages		284.760		286.713	3.9	0.7
Food		286.856		288.899	3.7	0.7
Food at home		264.876	261.598	263.208	0.4	-0.6	0.6
Cereal and bakery products		311.669		303.975	-1.1	-2.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		278.807		282.857	7.3	1.5
Dairy and related products		289.638		288.382	0.1	-0.4
Fruits and vegetables		343.526		343.859	-0.1	0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		168.520		170.693	1.8	1.3
Other food at home		207.911		201.881	-4.2	-2.9
Food away from home		325.397		334.016	8.7	2.6
Alcoholic beverages		265.855		266.886	5.6	0.4

Housing		302.871		304.561	1.7	0.6
Shelter		358.841	359.294	360.418	1.2	0.4	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)		375.135	375.653	375.726	2.2	0.2	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)(4)		386.511	386.560	388.654	2.1	0.6	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)(4)		386.511	386.560	388.654	2.1	0.6	0.5
Fuels and utilities		307.458		314.526	6.1	2.3
Household energy		256.742	259.270	263.506	5.7	2.6	1.6
Energy services(2)		279.653	278.748	281.648	3.0	0.7	1.0
Electricity(2)		309.750	309.789	315.096	0.9	1.7	1.7
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		216.836	214.793	214.344	7.3	-1.1	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations		133.145		133.185	2.0	0.0

Apparel		123.223		127.278	-6.6	3.3

Transportation		187.703		194.353	4.0	3.5
Private transportation		191.533		201.763	5.9	5.3
New and used motor vehicles(5)		108.870		112.018		2.9
New Vehicles(1)		216.146		213.293		-1.3
Used cars and trucks(1)		343.012		353.745	10.3	3.1
Motor fuel		200.359	211.577	238.316	12.2	18.9	12.6
Gasoline (all types)		198.108	209.172	235.775	12.3	19.0	12.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(6)		190.579	202.054	228.954	12.9	20.1	13.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(6)(7)		223.056	227.542	247.415	7.1	10.9	8.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(6)		218.388	225.371	246.394	9.0	12.8	9.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Medical care		693.754		697.383	-2.2	0.5

Recreation(5)		116.060		115.031	-6.4	-0.9

Education and communication(5)		172.818		174.023	2.2	0.7
Tuition, other fees, and child care(1)		1,420.582		1,422.544	1.7	0.1

Other goods and services		519.220		522.085	1.7	0.6

Commodity and service group
Commodities		194.408		198.613	3.2	2.2
Commodities less food and beverages		148.847		153.780	2.6	3.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		184.222		194.499	1.0	5.6
Durables		112.738		113.445	4.7	0.6
Services		369.668		370.922	0.4	0.3

Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		260.189		263.333	1.4	1.2
All items less medical care		271.129		273.706	1.6	1.0
Commodities less food		153.434		158.251	2.8	3.1
Nondurables		233.037		239.316	2.6	2.7
Nondurables less food		189.321		198.855	1.4	5.0
Services less rent of shelter(3)		399.069		399.915	-0.5	0.2
Services less medical care services		346.078		347.119	0.7	0.3
Energy		230.658	236.843	250.570	8.2	8.6	5.8
All items less energy		295.739		297.059	0.9	0.4
All items less food and energy		298.262		299.469	0.4	0.4
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a January 1978=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (4) This index series underwent a change in composition in January 2010. The expenditure class now includes weight from secondary residences, and has been re-titled "Owners' equivalent rent of residences." The item stratum "Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence" excludes secondary residences. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (6) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (7) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Northeast Information Office

Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton — March 2021