Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton – September 2022

Area prices were up 0.9 percent over the two months ending in September; up 8.1 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Boston advanced 0.9 percent for the two months ending in September 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that higher prices for shelter and food were partially offset by falling energy prices. (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 8.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.9 percent over the year, with widespread price increases within the overall category. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, September 2019–September 2022

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, September 2019–September 2022
Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Sep 2019	1.1	1.9
Nov 2019	2.1	2.8
Jan 2020	2.2	2.4
Mar 2020	1.8	2.3
May 2020	0.6	1.1
Jul 2020	0.8	0.8
Sep 2020	0.6	0.5
Nov 2020	0.4	0.4
Jan 2021	0.5	0.2
Mar 2021	1.3	0.4
May 2021	3.2	2.3
Jul 2021	4.3	3.3
Sep 2021	4.0	2.7
Nov 2021	5.3	3.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.7
Mar 2022	7.3	5.2
May 2022	7.5	4.9
Jul 2022	7.0	3.9
Sep 2022	8.1	5.9

Food

Food prices increased 2.1 percent for the two months ending in September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.4 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 1.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 12.2 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 13.7 percent, while prices for food away from home rose 9.9 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index fell 7.3 percent for the two months ending in September. The decrease was mainly due to falling gasoline prices (-19.0 percent). Prices for fuel oil also decreased over the same period. Partially offsetting these decreases were rising electricity (7.1 percent) and natural gas service (4.7 percent) prices.

Energy prices advanced 31.0 percent over the year. Gasoline prices increased 22.8 percent. Prices paid for electricity rose 27.0 percent, while prices paid for natural gas services rose 56.0 percent over the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.2 percent) and education and communication (1.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (12.6 percent), and medical care (6.8 percent). Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent increased 5.4 percent, while rent of primary residence increased 5.3 percent.

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

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 BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table A. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
Month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	1.1	2.8	0.5	2.5	0.6	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	6.3
March	0.9	3.6	0.5	2.1	0.1	1.8	0.9	1.3	1.9	7.3
May	0.0	3.2	0.2	2.3	-1.0	0.6	0.8	3.2	1.1	7.5
July	0.3	3.4	0.0	2.0	0.2	0.8	1.2	4.3	0.7	7.0
September	1.2	3.3	0.2	1.1	0.1	0.6	-0.1	4.0	0.9	8.1
November	-0.4	3.2	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.4	1.7	5.3

Table 1. 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	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Sep. 2021	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022
All items		315.841		318.800	8.1	0.9
All items (1967 = 100)		918.001		926.601

Food and beverages		320.493		327.202	11.6	2.1
Food		325.185		331.888	12.2	2.1
Food at home		294.910	300.973	301.967	13.7	2.4	0.3
Cereal and bakery products		353.862		356.916	13.2	0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		317.142		321.796	10.7	1.5
Dairy and related products		342.933		349.805	19.6	2.0
Fruits and vegetables		370.481		374.926	7.5	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		187.788		190.860	24.0	1.6
Other food at home		225.162		237.552	14.7	5.5
Food away from home		377.960		383.666	9.9	1.5
Alcoholic beverages		272.176		279.156	4.7	2.6

Housing		326.206		332.273	7.8	1.9
Shelter		379.462	383.097	384.018	4.8	1.2	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)		394.186	395.694	399.536	5.3	1.4	1.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)(4)		409.915	412.564	414.602	5.4	1.1	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)(4)		409.915	412.564	414.602	5.4	1.1	0.5
Fuels and utilities		380.640		403.489	36.0	6.0
Household energy		330.197	328.388	338.387	37.3	2.5	3.0
Energy services(2)		332.054	333.876	352.832	36.2	6.3	5.7
Electricity(2)		364.450	388.832	390.175	27.0	7.1	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		260.309	229.866	272.438	56.0	4.7	18.5
Household furnishings and operations		145.836		150.086	9.5	2.9

Apparel		133.558		140.637	8.0	5.3

Transportation		245.748		235.205	12.9	-4.3
Private transportation		256.074		243.484	12.1	-4.9
New and used motor vehicles(5)		139.570		138.642	12.6	-0.7
New Vehicles(1)		236.830		239.197	16.3	1.0
Used cars and trucks(1)		494.963		477.666	7.7	-3.5
Motor fuel		407.841	373.344	330.546	23.0	-19.0	-11.5
Gasoline (all types)		403.191	369.108	326.708	22.8	-19.0	-11.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(6)		391.643	357.549	315.222	22.0	-19.5	-11.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(6)(7)		434.832	403.348	364.567	27.8	-16.2	-9.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(6)		419.128	390.766	355.001	28.0	-15.3	-9.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Medical care		743.091		748.394	6.8	0.7

Recreation(5)		118.320		120.763	5.0	2.1

Education and communication(5)		175.231		178.096	1.4	1.6
Tuition, other fees, and child care(1)		1,437.716		1,464.680	2.2	1.9

Other goods and services		572.395		594.997	11.7	3.9

Commodity and service group
Commodities		230.836		229.750	10.9	-0.5
Commodities less food and beverages		183.914		180.321	10.8	-2.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		245.826		234.150	13.8	-4.7
Durables		129.237		130.400	8.5	0.9
Services		392.603		399.203	6.8	1.7

Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		293.759		296.071	10.2	0.8
All items less medical care		299.505		302.370	8.3	1.0
Commodities less food		187.819		184.452	10.5	-1.8
Nondurables		282.543		279.444	12.6	-1.1
Nondurables less food		246.974		236.473	13.0	-4.3
Services less rent of shelter(3)		425.961		435.562	9.3	2.3
Services less medical care services		367.591		374.245	6.8	1.8
Energy		358.607	343.695	332.423	31.0	-7.3	-3.3
All items less energy		317.996		323.143	6.7	1.6
All items less food and energy		318.288		323.233	5.9	1.6
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: Thursday, October 13, 2022

Northeast Information Office

Consumer Price Index, Boston-Cambridge-Newton – September 2022